About a month ago, I had a car accident. Basically, I went around a bend and swerved around another car that was too far into the middle of the road, and my passenger side tires went off the road. Then when I got them back on the road, I hit a patch of gravel and spun out and hit a tree. I was alone, I was not speeding, and I had my Seat Belt on. I had nothing distracting me but the cup of coffee in my hand, which in the USA is not a crime to have. And, oh, I avoided the other car... and yet, I got a ticket in the mail for Careless Driving... Even though no one was injured. Heck, the people who owned the tree refused to even take my insurance information. MY CAR was the only thing that took any damage, other than me. Since the accident I have had to go to a chiropractor 3 times a week to get my back and neck re-aligned...

Should I even bother trying to appeal it? I can take it to the local courts and fight it, but the ticket is $135... is it worth it?

cup of coffee in one hand..you are guilty......both hands on the wheel that is the law

Speeding
Failing to use signals
Disobeying traffic signs and signals
Drifting into another lane
Distracted driving (such as eating or applying make-up while driving)


all examples

At the very least you could probably get the points on your license reduced or taken off completely. I'd say it's worth it, as long as you don't have to pay any additional money yourself.

I probably wouldn't appeal. If your car hit the tree then you lost control of the vehicle. It will depend a bit depending upon the specific law, but traffic citations tend to be hard to get over turned.

There may be a provision to get it suspended though. If that's an optionit's likely worth taking. The way that usually works is you come into court and admit to the offense, they then suspend the ticket and as long as you don't get another one during the period they've suspended it for, you're not required to pay it.

So, that might be worth doing, but you're going to want to consult somebody with actual law experience in this area and in your locality because it's going to vary from place to place and I'm not even sure that losing control of the vehicle is a citation that can be suspended. Depends where he is. Around here we don't have points on our licenses, so they can suspend the license, revoke the license and that's it. I'm usually more worried about what it's going to do to my insurance.

Go to court and fight it. Don't mention the coffee though if you're asked, do not lie. Simply tell your story without elaboration to the judge. He may drop the ticket and may demand that you go for a driver's ed course. Or you may not get out of the ticket. But if you do get out of it , those points will be dropped from your record and your insurance company won't be able to add an extra fee to your insurance for the next three years.

In other words, it is worth it to at least try and fight it.

There is only one answer for this miscarriage of justice.

=P

Tell them you absolutely had both hands on the wheel because that is always the way you drive when you've been drinking.

Normally when there's an accident somebody gets a ticket. Nobody was harmed except for you, but you still did lose control of the vehicle. Sounds like it could have been a lot worse, but I'm guessing that since none of the other vehicles collided with you that you were cited because you should have anticipated the other car taking the turn too widely.

I know I never assume that a car will stay in the lane on those turns because they usually don't.

I understand that logic, and I know "someone's got to get a ticket," but this was a country road, and I was waiting for well over an HOUR AFTER I CALLED THEM before a cup even showed up!

This reminds me, one of the first things I was teached in my Driving School were: "Both hands always on the wheel, you need both to drive" and "Never drive a car with one hand and using the other hand for something else, like using a cellphone", because "you can easily lose control or direction of the vehicle"...

In the US, the cop who issued the ticket has to appear to argue your appeal. Quite often, they're too busy and don't even show. In such a case, your chance of getting the ticket removed is pretty good.

Even if the cop shows, the judge will hear both of you and make a decision. But the judge cannot make it worse on you.

You can't possibly lose by appealing, and you have a decent chance of winning.

MERICA! In your shoes, I wouldn't bother fighting it. You will lose. The Police always wins here no matter what they do.

Except can't I get stuck with additional Court Fees?

Your fee will probably be to a traffic lawyer, which will usually be the cost of the ticket itself. You aren't likely to get out of paying that money, whether it happens by court or taken by the federal offices, but the main point of arguing a ticket is that you won't receive a penalty on your license. If you haven't already, make sure that your insurance company is aware of the ruling if the charges are dropped. But if you're telling the truth, make sure that the judge knows exactly what you've told us, that you avoided another car and wrecked as a result, in particular if you hadn't spoken to a traffic cop before leaving.