CA: Speeding ticket in mail after collision

[unfairtic]

What is the name of your state? California

I rear-ended a pickup truck on a rainy night. The truck was not damaged, however my car was towed from the scene. I called the police to have a report taken. The officer asked me to estimate my speed before the collision, and I told him 35. The next day, I received a letter from the city stating that a complaint has been filed against me. The yellow copy of a citation was attached. The officer wrote me a citation for 35 in a 40 zone. The officer never observed my driving pattern, and I never signed the citation, however, I received a courtesy notice with a court date, or a bill of $357.50.

How can I fight this and win?

Thank you.

 

[CdwJava]

What is the name of your state? California

I rear-ended a pickup truck on a rainy night. The truck was not damaged, however my car was towed from the scene. I called the police to have a report taken. The officer asked me to estimate my speed before the collision, and I told him 35. The next day, I received a letter from the city stating that a complaint has been filed against me. The yellow copy of a citation was attached. The officer wrote me a citation for 35 in a 40 zone. The officer never observed my driving pattern, and I never signed the citation, however, I received a courtesy notice with a court date, or a bill of $357.50.

How can I fight this and win?

Thank you.

You appear and argue your side of things. See about obtaining a copy of the police report - perhaps through Discovery - and see what is said in the report.

Ultimately the state will have to prove that you were speeding.

Depending on the exact conditions of the accident, you are almost certainly guilty of unsafe speed or following too closely. So, the CVC 22350 citation is probably due to the collision ... a safe speed for a vehicle stopped in front of you is zero.

- Carl

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

By your own admission, you're in violation of California's "Basic Speed Law"; i.e., You shall only travel at a speed that is safe for the prevailing conditions.

You will lose.

IAAL

 

[unfairtic]

Here is what the report says:

Summary:
P-2 was traveling westbound. P-1 was also traveling westbound behind P-2. P-2 suddenly stopped for traffic in front of him that was turning into the theater parking lot. P-2 was able to stop his vehicle. P-1 applied his brakes but was unable to stop before colliding with the back of P-2.

Statements:
P-1 said he saw P-2 stopping suddenly in front of him. P-1 applied his brakes but was unable to avoid a collision with P-2. P-1 estimated that he was driving about 35 miles per hour prior to attempting to stop.

P-2 saw the traffic in front of him coming to a sudden stop in order to turn into the theater parking lot. P-2 applied his brakes and was able to avoid a collision with the car in front of him. Suddenly P-2 was impacted from behind by P-1.

Cause:
P-1 was found to be at fault of this collision by being in violation of the primary collision factor of 22350.VC Basic Speed Law.

 

[CdwJava]

That's pretty standard fare ... and since P-2 was stopped, the PCF would almost certainly be CVC 22350.

Sorry, but you're going to be almost certainly be guilty of the infraction. You are expected to follow at a distance and speed safe enough to allow you to stop should the traffic in front of you come to a stop.

The only silver lining you have is that insurance companies do not always look at the vehicle code for the assignment of fault in their world.

- Carl

 

[unfairtic]

My insurance company was nice, and didn't raise my rates.
"Ultimately the state will have to prove that you were speeding."
Can you help me with any arguments to disprove this.
The court has the damaged vehicles, and my statement as evidence against me.
What I can think of is that the speed (35) was written in the report as an estimate from me, and I may not qualify as an expert in the court.
~also~
At the bottom of the ticket, the officer signed it under the words:
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.

How does anybody know how fast I was going?

Am I on the right track?

 

[CdwJava]

"Ultimately the state will have to prove that you were speeding."
Can you help me with any arguments to disprove this.

Not really. When you rear-end another vehicle, it's a pretty prima facie argument for unsafe speed.

The court has the damaged vehicles, and my statement as evidence against me.
What I can think of is that the speed (35) was written in the report as an estimate from me, and I may not qualify as an expert in the court.

It doesn't really matter. The only safe speed in this situation would have been zero (0) MPH.

Again, rear-ending another (stopped) vehicle is usually sufficient to prove unsafe speed.

At the bottom of the ticket, the officer signed it under the words:
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.

Yep. It's on all our citations. It doesn't mean that he asserts that all the information is true, only that he didn't make any of it up as it is based on statements or reasonable inference from the information provided.

How does anybody know how fast I was going?

They don't ... but, once again, it's not relevant as the safe speed would have been zero.

Am I on the right track?

Sorry, no.

You can consult an attorney if it's worth a couple thousand dollars to you. But, given what you have written here, the collision is pretty clearly your fault. And given what you wrote, the PCF is reasonably CVC 22350 as you were cited.

- Carl