Careless driving lesser charge?

[Soccerball]

I was driving down a turning hill when my back end started fish tailing and I tried to correct it and I slide into a cement barrier on the left side of the road and I did not fall asleep. But I did not hit anything. When the cop got there he ended giving me a careless driving ticket for $402. What could a lesser charge for this be?

[97'Scort]

Originally posted by Soccerball
I was driving down a turning hill when my back end started fish tailing and I tried to correct it and I slide into a cement barrier on the left side of the road and I did not fall asleep. But I did not hit anything. When the cop got there he ended giving me a careless driving ticket for $402. What could a lesser charge for this be?
You hit the barrier, which would be hitting something. That's essentially the cost of replacing the barricade you hit, so I think it'll stick.

[2Valve0]

^^^^
Agree'd you did hit a barrier, and the way they look at it is, what if there was a car there to hit.
How did you fishtail down a hill btw? Theres no ice on the roads today :dunno: unless im mistaken. They will look at that as well.

[bjstare]

I got this charge years ago, within 6 months of getting my license. I was going too fast around a corner, mad understeer occurred and I hit a median. It was July and dry pavement, in the day time, however I got the charge reduced to "too fast for conditions" which was $160 fine at the time, and also a R.O. (registered owner) ticket, which is like a photo radar, thus no demerits either. This will be a good (if not the best) ticket to shoot for.

[Soccerball]

Well the funny thing the officer said if I went to court I would probably get a lesser charge!

[atgilchrist]

Originally posted by Soccerball
...and I did not fall asleep.

How is this relevant?

Go to the court date and see what they say.

[TurboD]

Originally posted by Soccerball
Well the funny thing the officer said if I went to court I would probably get a lesser charge!

Police officers have no authority to give judicial advice pertaining to traffic offenses.
Additionally, police officers have been known to lie, and to assume they are telling the truth is naive.

One time I was pulled over for speeding in a playground zone, and the officer insisted that the ticket would have no demerits associated with it... lie.

Whether it's deliberate or ignorance, you cannot assume they are always correct.

Fight the ticket, either by yourself or hire a points type of business to fight it for you.

[tom_9109]

Pretty tough for the crown to prove careless driving. Cop didn't see it happen and careful and prudent drivers crash sometimes. Who's to say a large bump or improperly inflated tires didn't lead to the traction problem?

Think hard. unless the cop was watching you driving like a maniac or texting this won't stick.

I assume you called the police from the scene or did they just show up?

[2Valve0]

Still didn't answer the question...
You were obviously driving like an idiot to fishtail on clear roads...

[tom_9109]

Originally posted by 2Valve0
Still didn't answer the question...
You were obviously driving like an idiot to fishtail on clear roads...

You're probably right, but they can't prove it.;)

[FiveFreshFish]

Originally posted by Soccerball
When the cop got there he ended giving me a careless driving ticket for $402.

You should have driven off if your car was drivable and there was no damage to the concrete barrier. Could have reported it later at the police station to get your damage sticker. Less likely to get ticketed if they don't see the accident scene.

[dexlargo]

Maybe there are tire marks that support the charge :dunno:

Were you fishtailing because you were drifting around the corners, videogame style?

Also, there could be other witnesses...

[Soccerball]

I have no clue how I fishtailed! But I realized after that my tires were down to almost nothing and one of the tires wasn't fully inflated! But I am going to go to court and fight it!

[Soccerball]

And no there weren't any skid marks I drive down that hill every day and stupid thing the accident occured on my second time down it! There were also not any witnesses and I found out I shoud have drove off after.

[bjstare]

Originally posted by TurboD


Police officers have no authority to give judicial advice pertaining to traffic offenses.
Additionally, police officers have been known to lie, and to assume they are telling the truth is naive.

One time I was pulled over for speeding in a playground zone, and the officer insisted that the ticket would have no demerits associated with it... lie.

Whether it's deliberate or ignorance, you cannot assume they are always correct.

Fight the ticket, either by yourself or hire a points type of business to fight it for you.

Your right, they don't have the authority to give judicial advice... but advising the OP to go to court is good advice either way. The reason the police officer said its in the OPs interest, is because police have to issue a ticket if they come to the scene of the accident, and careless driving is the fallback ticket (if you will) they give when there is a one car collision. The reason the officer advised OP to go to court, is because since they (or anyone else) didn't witness the accident its very difficult to prove careless driving. Sure, it seems obvious OP was driving like an idiot; is there PROOF though? No. Just an inference based on circumstantial evidence.

So I stick with my above comment, and what worked for me when I was in the same situation. Too fast for conditions FTW.

Edit: Out of curiosity, when the officer insisted your ticket carried no demerits, did you read the ticket? There's a section for how many demerits your being issued (or at least there was last time I got a ticket IIRC)..?

[rinny]

Fight it Fight it Fight it....

First, a ticket like this can bung up your insurance etc.

More importantly:

It's incredibly hard for the officer to prove anything, as was mentioned.


What to do:

Go to Justice of Peace on day stated on ticket, see if he will do anything. If he wont drop it down to a fine OR a fine + no more than 3 demerits, then go to court.

Should it proceed to court...

Check in with the Prosecutor as soon as you come into the courtroom. Ask him if you two can set a resolution for the ticket.

A good amendment that they may change your Careless to is "fail to stay in center of lane" which yields <$200 and 2 demerits. ALSO, If the Justice of Peace recommends something heavier, you may even want to bring up the idea of having it "amended" to this ticket.


Hope this helps. I really dont think you'd need a lawyer for something like this, but if thats what makes you feel confident, by all means.

[slick2404]

.

[CUG]

You need to fight this for sure. It's not the 402$ you should be concerned of, it's the insurance rig.

[broken_legs]

Originally posted by tom_9109
and careful and prudent drivers crash sometimes.

You've obviously never talked to masoncgy


Just out of curiosity OP, is your vehicle equipped with winter tires? Was this due to ice, or did a bee fly in the window and freak you out?

[Mibz]

I smoked the shit out of a barrier and wasn't charged with anything.