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  #1  
Old 03-22-2017, 03:25 PM
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RP RP is online now
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Default 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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Last edited by RP; 03-22-2017 at 10:13 PM.
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Old 03-22-2017, 03:29 PM
Brucebubs Brucebubs is offline
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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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Old 03-22-2017, 03:53 PM
HHP HHP is offline
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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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Old 03-22-2017, 04:02 PM
Bucc5207 Bucc5207 is offline
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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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Old 03-22-2017, 04:03 PM
jstegeman jstegeman is offline
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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.
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Old 03-22-2017, 04:07 PM
frazervalley frazervalley is offline
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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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Old 03-22-2017, 07:01 PM
Riverwolf Riverwolf is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RP View Post
I was approximately 8-10" behind the vehicle in front 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";
8-10 inches? Did you mean feet?
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.
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Old 03-22-2017, 09:52 PM
tbeltrans tbeltrans is offline
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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.

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Old 03-22-2017, 10:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Riverwolf View Post
8-10 inches? Did you mean feet?
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.
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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Old 03-22-2017, 10:20 PM
guitargoat guitargoat is offline
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I say just don't show up to court. That works right?
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Old 03-23-2017, 05:16 AM
ewalling ewalling is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RP View Post
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...
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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Old 03-23-2017, 05:20 AM
chitz chitz is offline
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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.
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Old 03-23-2017, 05:31 AM
sled sled is offline
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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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Old 03-23-2017, 05:41 AM
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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"


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Old 03-23-2017, 05:48 AM
Silly Moustache Silly Moustache is offline
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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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