careless driving

I was driving 40 miles per hour in a 65 mph zone. I hit a patch of black ice, fishtailed, slid off the road. The police officer gave me a careless driving ticket. No one was hurt, I was the only vehicle involved, and there was no property damage except for my vehicle which was minimal. I decided not to turn it in to my insurance. I was towed out of the ditch and proceeded on my way. The tow truck company had problems pulling me out of the ditch because the road was so slick with ice. They had to get a second vehicle anchor them down to keep them from sliding. Under these circumstances I don't think it was fair for me to get this ticket or really any ticket at all.

Is this a legitimate reason to give someone a careless driving ticket. What should I focus my defense on? I was not being careless in any manner. Please help.

It is always the responsibility of a driver to control their vehicle irregardless of the road conditions. You can base a defense on you driving well under the speed limit. But under the conditions you describe, 40 mph was obviously too fast. Remember, the posted speed limit is what is considered to be safe under ideal driving conditions, the worse the conditions, the slower you should go.