Ticket for failure to yeild? When to fight it?

Question

A mother's worse nightmare and that dreaded phone call. "Mama, come quick. I've been in a bad wreck". I don't even remember the phone ringing - just "where are you and are you hurt?". It was a classic antique car - but very unimportant. He's 18, and never had a ticket or wreck. He turned in front of oncoming truck; he misjudged her speed. The speed limit was 35, and it took her 190 feet to stop after impact. The state patrol said her speed was at least 45, but he couldn't cite her because he couldn't prove it. State Patrol says it wouldn't have mattered if she was running 100, he still has to yield right of way, even if she's breaking the law. So, he did fail to yield but had she been running the speed limit he would have had time to make the turn. Witnesses agree. Is it worth arguing the point?

No, I'm not making excuses. I clearly stated he failed to yield, but her speed was a contributing factor to the accident. The insurance company will defend any suit for damages, and like I said I couldn't possibly care less about the car. I just wondered what the thoughts were about fighting the ticket.

He did fail to yield, but she was speeding. He was turning in our church parking lot, so all the witnesses are going to be very one sided in their opinion.

Answer 1

Were there skids? If so, were they measured? Using skids to measure speed is accident investigation 101. Local cops may not handle accidents and measurements but that what troopers do. Traffic enforcement and accidents. I'd be amazed if he did not measure the crash.

If you truly believe your boy is innocent of the charge, you will need to retain an attorney who specializes is accidents. He will have an accident reconstructionist do his best to reconstruct what happened (depends on what evidence is still on the road, were tires marked, etc). He will also have a metallurgist inspect the vehicles for crush to determine speed. This will cost alot of money as these professionals do not come cheap. You could do all of this to find out the truck was traveling 45 mph as the trooper said, which a prudent and reasonable person would believe your son to be at fault at that speed. it worth it? Only you know.

Answer 2

I suggest your son (he was driving, not you) pay the ticket. He committed the offence of 'fail to yield' and nothing the other person did or didn't do will change that. In most traffic accidents both parties do something wrong, but the police look at each person and apply traffic laws. Sometimes both people are charged (i.e. one following too closely, and the other fail to signal a turn, etc.) The officer obviously knows the other driver was speeding, but unless he has evidence that will prove the offence in court his hands are tied. The way you explained the situation is really clear and complete and it sounds as if the officer gave your son a very accurate explanation. The actions of the other driver may have a bearing on the fine the judge imposes on your son if he goes to court, but not on his guilt or innocence. Those actions may, however, have a bearing in a potential lawsuit in civil court. Save everyone's time and advise your son to pay the ticket without going to court. Sorry I can't give you a happier answer. Good luck!

Answer 3

There was actually a similar case that made it to the TX Supreme Court. The court in that case decided a driver has a reasonable expectation that an on coming vehicle would be driving a safe speed.

Your argument would be best if you can present photos of the accident including skid marks if there were any, & the damage to the cars. These things tend to indicate the speed of the cars. Good photos just may show the judge the on coming car was driving over the speed limit. You can also ask the investigating officer questions related to the speed & damage to the cars.
No guarantee of course but improves your odds.

IF this ends up in a civil trial, get yourself an accident reconstruction expert. He/she will take all the info from the report & maybe able to estimate the other vehicle's speed. His expert opinion can include the time your son had to react to the on coming car. Plus, he will be able to testify to his estimate because he is an expert.

Answer 4

Speed could be used as a factor in a civil trial, but in the case of the ticket, then Failing to Yield is the contributing factor to the accident. Speed is a hard thing to prove unless you are a Accident Reconstructionist, and I am not, but I know that road conditions, tires, brakes, and a lot of other things get factored in when calculating speed based on skid marks. Hard case to prove, when the obvious is that he failed to yield. It all comes down to how much money you want to spend to try and defend the whole situation. Talk with your insurance company, they have experts, and they will let you know if they are going to fight fault or not. Good Luck.

Answer 5

Since it took her 190 feet to stop I wonder why she wasn't cited for speeding. This sounds like what happens here in LA. I've seen so many accidents and it's due to speeding. It's scary sometimes making a turn when the cars are traveling so fast on these streets. But since the law says the car making the left turn must yield to oncoming traffic what can you do?

I guess you need an accident lawyer for advice.

Answer 6

It's only worth arguing against the ticket if you can prove that he did not fail to yield -- in other words, if you can prove that he did yield, or that the other person did not have right of way.

In a civil lawsuit against the other driver, it becomes a matter of which offense was worse -- failure to yield or speeding.

But fighting against the ticket, the speed of the other driver is irrelevant for that offense. Right of way for the other person traveling in the same direction doesn't depend on speed.

Answer 7

He failed to yield. It's just too bad, the ticket will be paid one way or another because that's how the courts will see it. I'd not waste my time with it. I would however make sure that the woman pays up, because it CAN be proved how fast you're going through analysis of the wreck (the trooper was probably just making an educated guess, once they analyze it, he'll probably be right.) Good luck.

Answer 8

it extremely is hard to respond to the question without understanding your state, etc...however the hassle-free certainty is that it extremely is not any longer in all probability properly worth struggling with any value ticket if there is not any evidence. some inquiries to ask are: became into the bulldozer a state/city contractor, or became into he engaged on inner maximum sources? What became into the sufferers take on the area? except you may get between the events to validate what you reported, the respond is not any. do no longer waste a while. i actual had to renounce on struggling with a value tag when I had a failure to yield after i became into rear-ended and pushed into oncoming site visitors. Yah... no person such because of the fact the cop denied that i became right into a sufferer of the guy that hit me, yet i became into nevertheless ticketed. It became into even on the value ticket. yet it extremely is the way it is going.

Answer 9

as a mother u need to figure out what kind of lesson your child should b learning. if it is one of ducking responsibilities and blaming others, then yes, fight it. if u want your child to learn that there are rules and laws for a reason, then u need to let him find out the consequences. u try to argue that if the other person hadnt been going so fast, that ur child's illegal turn would have been ok...but thats not right at all. u mention that ur son was driving a classic car, but that it is unimportant...its obviously important or else it wouldnt have been mentioned. i hope u r not trying to pin the blame on the truck driver ur son slammed into so that u get money from them in court, that would b awful on ur part, both as a citizen and as a parent. ur son will b sorely reminded to obey traffic laws (even if they r inconvenient) every time he sees someone in a classic car like he had before he destroyed it. aside from all this he should just b glad he didnt kill anyone, and u should b glad he didnt as well. if he tries to fight the ticket i really hope he loses.

Answer 10

NO, it is not worth arguing. At a higher speed, I would say it depends on the road in question. At 10 mph above the limit, her speed was sufficiently common that any reasonable driver would expect it.