Found an issue on this page? Let us know and we will look into it as soon as possible.
Traffic ticket issued incorrectly.
Anonymous2 views2 answers
I went to make a lane change and signaled after checking to make sure the lane was clear. The lane was clear. After I moved into the lane, a car that was in the same lane, two cars back, pulled into the same lane as I did and accelerated quickly. That car had to hit the brakes to avoid hitting me. There was no collision. Both cars drove away. The car did not slide into the curb as best I could tell. 8 hours later, the police came to my house and issued me a ticket stating that I had made an unsafe lane change. The person who came up behind me and hit the brakes hard, is claiming that he slid into the curb and damaged his wheel rims and is making a claim against my insurance company. Since it took him 8 hours to call the police, I think he damaged his car later and then filed the report in an effort to get his wheel repaired by the insurance company.
any advice?
You are entitled to all of the evidence in the case as part of "Discovery". You can demand the accident report from the prosecutor. The prosecution bears the burden of proving every element of the charge. You can demand a trial and force the prosecutor to prove that the damage to the vehicle was consistent with hitting the curb. The officer probably was unable to locate a "point of impact" along the roadway. The officer probably didn't even go to the scene 8 hours later.
If you fight it you may need to be represented by an attorney skilled in these matters, though, to best take advantage of any potential defenses.
Good luck to you.
NOTE: This answer is made available by the out-of-state lawyer for educational purposes only. By using or participating in this site you understand that there is no attorney client privilege between you and the attorney responding. This site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney that practices in the subject practice discipline and with whom you have an atttorney client relationship along with all the privileges that relationship provides. The law changes frequently and varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The information and materials provided are general in nature, and may not apply to a specific factual or legal circumstance described in the question.
