#1
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Need Legal/Traffic Ticket Advice...
I was stopped at a traffic light on a slight downhill. I was approximately 8-10' behind the vehicle in front of me. My foot slipped off the brake and went onto the gas pedal propelling my car into the truck ahead of me. No injuries and no damage to the bumper of the truck ahead of me, but my Honda CRV broke the plastic tabs of many plastic parts. I was given a ticket for "following too closely"; but the more I think about it, the less convinced I am that this was the case...
Here is the specific statute which implies to me a situation in which vehicles involved are moving, not stopped at a light.... § 46.2-816. Following too closely. The driver of a motor vehicle shall not follow another vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard to the speed of both vehicles and the traffic on, and conditions of, the highway at the time.
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Emerald X20 Emerald X20-12 Fender Robert Cray Stratocaster Martin D18 Ambertone Martin 000-15sm Last edited by RP; 03-22-2017 at 10:13 PM. |
#2
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Pay it and be thankful a person wasn't walking past in front of your car when it happened.
Glad you're OK. It could have been a lot worse.
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Brucebubs 1972 - Takamine D-70 2014 - Alvarez ABT60 Baritone 2015 - Kittis RBJ-195 Jumbo 2012 - Dan Dubowski#61 2018 - Rickenbacker 4003 Fireglo 2020 - Gibson Custom Shop Historic 1957 SJ-200 2021 - Epiphone 'IBG' Hummingbird |
#3
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You should have just told the cop "Hey buddy, you work for me you know. I'm a taxpayer". That always gets results.
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#4
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I have to agree with the responses above.
Not a lawyer, but just pay it. I also agree you didn't follow too closely, you actually negligently drove your vehicle into another. The cited reg may not apply, but it's possible it carries less weight and the officer did you a favor.
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Herb Proud owner of only one guitar --- https://soundcloud.com/bucc5207 "Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts." - Richard Feynman, 1966 |
#5
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Legal advice comes from lawyers. Just saying.
I agree, sounds more like you should have been given a "careless driving" ticket rather than a "following too closely" ticket. I'd venture to guess that you got the better end of the deal. |
#6
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Your actions, though unintentional, resulted in the collision. The vehicle in front of you did nothing. A stroke of bad luck with minimal consequences for you. I would just pay it and move on. Hope the rest of your day went better.
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frazervalley Larrivee, LV-03E Sitka/Peruvian Walnut Bourgeois, Dreadnaught DB Signature, Italian Spruce/Madagascar Rosewood |
#7
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Quote:
If no damage to other vehicle then why were the police called in the first place? Tailgaters are the worst. Always makes me want to slam my brakes. |
#8
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If the OP was stopped at a light, then being a foot or so behind the car in front of him would be typical. Cars are not tailgating when topped for a light if they are much closer together than when moving at traffic speeds.
How this affects what happened with the ticket, I can't say, since I am not an attorney nor do I want to pose as one with phony advice here. I am only saying that we do bunch up typically when stopped at lights and then spread out again when we get moving. Tony
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“The guitar is a wonderful thing which is understood by few.” — Franz Schubert "Alexa, where's my stuff?" - Anxiously waiting... |
#9
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Good catch. Yeh, 8-10 feet. I called the police to have a report for insurance purposes. I wasn't tailgating - my foot slipped off the brake and mashed the gas. It was a split second kind of thing...
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Emerald X20 Emerald X20-12 Fender Robert Cray Stratocaster Martin D18 Ambertone Martin 000-15sm |
#10
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I say just don't show up to court. That works right?
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#11
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Well, maybe what you did was even more serious than tailgating, which is usually solved by slowing down to a point where the tailgater gets so frustrated he just has to scream past in contempt. To mistake the gas for the brake could have caused fatal injury or phenomenal property damage. Here in Miami, there seem to be quite a few cases where someone does this and plows into some poor family's living room or a store front. One woman recently smashed into a high school principal, and the guy lost both his legs.
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#12
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You could have been charged with "Failure to maintain control" or "reckless driving". Higher fines.
Pay it and forget it. Be happy no one was injured. |
#13
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Yes, the statute he wrote you on is probably not the correct statute. If he was going to ticket you, a "failure to control" ticket would have been more appropriate. Without knowing your state your state's traffic code I'm not sure which carries more points on your license or which has the highest fine (probably the same). Either way, you could contest it and have the charge amended, but in reality you aren't really accomplishing anything. Pay it an go live life...
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#14
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The challenge for the OP in court would be proving the fact of the circumstances that caused the collision.
The OP knows his foot slipped off the pedals and that was the cause of the car moving forward into the other cars bumper. How does the OP prove that , short of having a pedal camera installed ? I am in the camp of "the cop did you a favor, count your blessings, pay the fine and move on" Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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#15
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Seems to me that you've been booked for the wrong offence.
If you fought it you should win on a technicality. however you did commit an offence because you were not in full control of your vehicle, and "without due care and attention" could be a far more serious offence. Here in the UK you get a fine and points on your licence. The more points, the more expensive your insurance (and for anybody else named in your insurance). If your points total will cause a temporary ban, and damage your income etc., then it might be worth fighting. but if not, swallow the wrong pill and get a new front for your CRV...I have one too...it's all plastic!
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Silly Moustache, Just an old Limey acoustic guitarist, Dobrolist, mandolier and singer. I'm here to try to help and advise and I offer one to one lessons/meetings/mentoring via Zoom! |