Speed too fast for road conditions

Washington State
I slid off I82 and went through a wire fence. No other vehicle was involved. It had been snowing for about 15 or 20 minutes at the time. I was driving at the same speed as the rest of the traffic at least 15 mph slower than the posted limit.
I had been driving straight and at constant speed when the front end suddenly started sliding sideways. In calling for a tow truck, they also sent a Wash. State Patrol because of the property damage to the fence.
I was mailed a citation for this on Monday when the incident was on Friday.
In researching this, the law wording is fuzzy, i.e. "No person shall drive a vehicle on a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard to the actual and potential hazards then existing."
The incident happened an hour before the officer arrived and conditions were changing by the minute as it happened before sunset and the conditions deteriorated quickly as it got dark. The officer didn't ask when the accident actually happened.
He did no investigation of the road where I started sliding.
He didn't issue the citation at the time.
He wrote down $153 for the penalty but according to IRLJ 6.2, the penalty should have been $37.
How can a person determine what speed is appropriate, either me or the officer. How can he determine what speed I was going when he wasn't there? How can a citation be issued for such a vague thing stating neither my speed nor the "safe" speed? How should I proceed with this citation?

This is very simple:

If you had a wreck, then you were driving a vehicle on a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and without regard to the actual and potential hazards then existing.

Otherwise, you would not have had a wreck.

Welcome

to the reality of what's really going on with traffic law. The States are turning to the driving system for political symbolism and revenue. The States want a larger amount of the population in the driving criminal and ticketing system.

There was snow and ice, you were driving at least 15 mph below the posted speed limit. That's reasonable. And you slid off the road. There's nothing unusual about that in icy conditions. People slide off the road in icy conditions all the time.

Your state law is fuzzy for a reason. It gives law enforcement a blank check to just issue citations and make subjective decisions instead of objective decisions. Throw statues to the wind. Statues are only important if they help get citizens convicted. That what the States want.

"...Throw statues to the wind. Statues are only important if they help get citizens convicted...."

Or, if one of them lands on a citizen, getting him killed!

Maybe this is only simple to a simple mind that doesn't look for all the facts.
Fact #1 Not all accidents are caused by excessive speed for the conditions nor are all one car accidents caused by the operator.
Fact #2 If I was going at the same speed as the other traffic, then all the other traffic would be going too fast too. Funny, they didn't all have accidents and they weren't all given tickets.
Fact #3 The attorney I talked to disagrees with you completely. I guess you don't have the only legal opinion of the situation.
Nevertheless, I appreciate the response. It helps me have an idea of the attitude I might run into in court so I can prepare accordingly.

moxee said:

...Fact #3 The attorney I talked to disagrees with you completely. I guess you don't have the only legal opinion of the situation....

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No need to guess! You are absolutely correct.

Read stuff on this forum. If you get three lawyers together, you get nine opinions!

But let us know how this turns out.

i will be fighting a similar ticket. i had just turned off a side street on to a main street, the streets were slick. i hadnt accelerated to more than three or so miles per hour. i felt my tires slide. i slid into the curb and was rearended by the car turning behind me. i got a speeds to high for road conditions. but i was litterally only going like three miles an hour. so idk what to expect when i plead not guilty. i dont even really know what to say. other than that. its so stupid that i got a ticket for that. i think its dumb that you got one too. i hope you get the ticket dropped.

liv4pete said:

i will be fighting a similar ticket. i had just turned off a side street on to a main street, the streets were slick. i hadnt accelerated to more than three or so miles per hour. i felt my tires slide. i slid into the curb and was rearended by the car turning behind me. i got a speeds to high for road conditions. but i was litterally only going like three miles an hour. so idk what to expect when i plead not guilty. i dont even really know what to say. other than that. its so stupid that i got a ticket for that. i think its dumb that you got one too. i hope you get the ticket dropped.

Click to expand...

It's been four years since this thread was active. I'm sure the original poster has paid the ticket by now. Don't resurrect old threads, and learn proper language usage.