I had a traffic accident due to very bad weather. But police gave me reckless driving traffic citation?

Question

I had a traffice accident in the morning. Road was very slippery due to heavy snow from last night (All school and goverment center was closed today). I was driving hwy (25~30mph) with caution . But my car suddenly started to spinning and even I try to stop I couldn't . I think there was ice on the road. Anyway, while my car was spinning, the car coming from behind hit my car then my car stopped and end up to the snow bank. Another driver was OK and her car wasn't damaged that much. and then about 30 minutes later State police came and I reported exactly what happened to him. After 10 minutes later he came to me and gave me citation which is Reckless driving-Failure to maintain control. I think it's really unfair that police gave me that citation. I did lose the control but I did my best under my power to drive safe. I can accpet citation but it wasn't reckless driving.Is there any hope that Judge dismiss my citation? Should I get a lawyer? I'm very worried and angry with that police

Answer 1

Traffic tickets are very simple. You are expected to always have control over your vehicle - there are no exceptions. Your vehicle was spinning therefore you did not have control. The "Why" doesn't matter to them. You are responsible for proving that your situation is somehow different - they will inform you that thousands of others drove that day with "due care and caution" and "at speeds appropriate to the weather and road conditions" and they did not loose control.

Having said all of that, go to court with it. The cop may not show up, the judge may be especially leniant, or (best bet) you may be able to plead it down. The fine is not the problem - it is the impact on your car insurance. That is the one you need to fight.

It may be worthwhile to get a traffic ticket paralegal. but be careful, the ones who say if they don't win - you don't pay; they classify winning as pleading guilty to a lesser charge. You can do that yourself.

Answer 2

I'll tell you what happened to me a few years ago. I was pulling out of a 7-11 not to far from my house and had to cross the lane of traffic going northbound and through the median to get into the southbound lanes. As I pulled into the median and was watching traffic to try to merge in, a pedistrian ran across the road as I was starting to increase my speed to enter the traffic. I hit him with the front of my car and he bounced up on to my windshield.

I hit my brakes and he fell onto the ground in front of my car. A few people saw the accident and called 911. The police and an ambulence came a couple of minutes later and hauled the guy off to the hospital.

The cop had me pull my car off the road into a nearby parking lot and asked me questions. He took my license and ran it through the computer. When he came back he cited me for reckless driving. I pointed out that the pedistrian had crossed the road where there was no crosswalk and if I was being citied for reckless driving, then he should be cited for jaywalking. The cop agreed with me.

Anyway, I reported the whole thing to my insurance company and had to pay the $500 deductable. From day one, I held on to everything (including the paper clippings) I could find having to do with the accident. I also did some investigating and found out that the guy that ran across the road was on drugs and had a prior criminal history.

Long story short, I wasn't able to appear in court (I was in the process of going to work overseas) and was told I could write a letter with testimony in place of going to court. The judge dismissed the ticket.

Now your situation is a bit different, but I think if you play your cards right and present your case and are respectful of the judge, you could get the ticket lowered to a lessor offense and get the fine reduced. I don't think you'll get the whole thing thrown out though. At least go to court and see what the judge is willing to do though.

Answer 3

I don't know what city you live in, but I would get a lawyer and see if you can get the ticket reduced to a non moving violation or better even more to dismiss it. The car that was behind you should have been cited as well for not only the same as you, but for failure to keep a safe distance.
Now that I have said that I will say this, with the conditions as they were you were driving to fast. While it may seem that you were driving slow, it was as you found out, too fast on ice and snow. As a truck driver I am always having to watch out for cars that fail to understand that on ice you have to slow way down. There are times when 10 mph is too fast. If you don't have traction, you need to slow down. I have been on ice at 5 mph and that was all I could safely do even though I was maxed out with my weight at 80,000 lbs. Believe me, I know what it is like to go sideways. With a 70 ft long piece of machinery it gets scary.
In bad weather, you have to slow down to what your car can do, not what your brain can do. Ice sucks.
In reality, you really were driving too fast and so was the person that hit you.

Answer 4

You need to talk to a lawyer. If you don't know a good one and can't get a recommendation from friends or family, start out by looking in the Yellow Pages for lawyers who give free initial consultations. While it is technically true that you failed to maintain control of your car, you lost control of your car due to circumstances beyond your control (the ice on the roads). It sounds to me like you got a raw deal because the person that ended up hitting you also has a duty to maintain control of his/her vehicle, so why did you get cited? That person hit you, and if he/she had control of the vehicle they wouldn't have hit you. There is a VERY good chance that the judge will dismiss the fine, but the problem is you'll probably still end up being found at fault for the accident, which means your insurance could go up. It shouldn't, since the accident was the result of very bad road conditions, but you should be prepared for it and you should DEFINITELY call your insurance company and dispute it if the rates go up.

Answer 5

During poor wheather conditions, officers expect everyone to be so careful that one is barely hitting 9 mph. this is what could happen:
1. you get a ticket and have to pay between 150-400 depending were you live.

2. the case could be forward to one of the courts. mis or DAs office (county). Then the prosecutor may decide to charge you.
But there is a chance that nothing will happen.

Do you have a record? if not then that is very good for you.
May I suggest if you do get charged DON'T ASK FOR A TRIAL!!
Take the plea bargain. IF you have a clean record you can get the charge expunged or go throw a diversion program.

Answer 6

I don't know if you could get it dismisses as there was a pd accident. However you may be able to plea bargain it down to driving to fast conditions which is a catch all for any accident, they are obliged to give a ticket for something and this is usually where there is a accident. The other driver should be cited for either the same thing or following to closely. You are by law, obligated to maintain control of your vehicle at all times. Regardless of weather conditions.

Answer 7

If the car behind you hit you then it is their faulty not yours. Unless you are knocked into someone from behind you, the person who rear-ends another drive is always at fault. Could you have been driving a little slower and safer? Yeah, but the person behind you should have kept a safe distance given the bad road conditions. I would take it to court and see if it can't be dismissed. You will still have to pay court costs tho.

Answer 8

Get an attorney! Do not pay this fine...Fight it. You need to get an attorney to help you.... if your city had an emergency called and you weren't out for a good reason you should be fined for being out on the road but not reckless driving. If you pay this without getting it reduced or thrown out your insurance will go up and your driving record wil be terrible. Why didn't the other driver get a ticket for failing to maintain his/her vehicle or following too closely?

Answer 9

well lets put it this way, if the road conditions were that bad then everyone would have crashed. I am not saying that you are not careful but maybe if you dont know how to control your vehicle inthe snow and ice then dont drive in it. how much damage did the state police car have when he got there none he drove fine maybe you should have got one for too fast for conditions instead of reckless driving

Answer 10

Go to traffic court and tell the Judge exactly what happened. Do not let your animosity towards the police show. You have a good chance of getting it dismissed.