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Careless driving, PA

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diesel

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? PA

Hello,

I was in an auto accident a few weeks ago, here are the particulars...

I was coming off a highway ramp and I stopped at the Stop sign which is at the intersection. There is a Stop sign but not a four way only a two way, for me and opposing traffic. I looked both ways, waited for a few cars to go by and then proceeded into the intersection when it was clear. I was almost out of the intersection, when I see in my periphal (sp?) the front of a car about to hit into the right side of my minivan. I turned my wheel to the left to avoid as much as possible, the other car's driver turned right but it really was inevitable at that point. My car took a pretty good hit. My three kids were in the van also, ages 4-7. The four year old had a booster seat and the 6 and 7 year old did not, but their seatbelts were fastened. There were four young guys in the other car, I would guess they were all under 20. There were no other witnesses. Their car had to be towed, mine did not, although there is considerable damage to the side of my van. The police came and took everyone's info. I was told by the officer in charge "It's not the Police job to find out who's at fault, it's the insurance co." and he gave me a paper with the other drivers' info. I received no citations or anything at the time. This is also in a small town, I was visiting a relative and the officer clearly knew the other driver, calling him by his nickname and what not.
So about a week later I received a citation for careless driving and one for child restraint due to not having booster seats for my older children. On the careless driving cit. it says, "Def. did enter a roadway from another roadway after stopping at a clearly posted Stop sign, before it was safe to do so causing an accident."
I was upset because the officer told me it was not their job to find fault, but according to the ticket, he found me to be at fault, at least that's my perception. I called to speak to the officer about it and was told from his "investigation" that is what he found. He got an attitude and said, "I could have charged you with reckless driving but I didn't."

So the accident happened on a Sat. evening and by Sunday morning the invesigation was complete because I received a call from the other drivers insurance Sunday about 3 pm.

I plead not guilty to the careless driving cause I believe the other car was speeding. The direction the other car came from has a bend or curve and then a straight away before you get to the intersection. I did not see him and I don't think he saw me cause he didn't try to break, there were no skid marks or anything in the road to show he tried to stop.

I spoke to a lawyer and he said to try and plead "no contest" to avoid points. I cannot afford a lawyer. How do I defend myself?
 


diesel

Junior Member
Ok....

I have no experience in this matter. Do I talk to someone before the hearing? There was only guilty or not guilty on the ticket. How would one go about pleading "no contest"? Who do I talk with about it? Do I wait until the judge ask me?
 

cepe10

Member
keep in mind - the leo (who is the one bringing charges) didn't witness the event or perform any investigation - that may well work to you advantage in court if no other witnesses show up...

you can see who shows up at court before you decide what to plea.

they ask for you plea in court you can say no contest at that point if you want to.
 

The Occultist

Senior Member
What witness is required? I don't even see the LEO as being necessary in this trial. If it was safe for the OP to cross the intersection, she would not have been hit.
 

cepe10

Member
The Occultist said:
What witness is required? I don't even see the LEO as being necessary in this trial. If it was safe for the OP to cross the intersection, she would not have been hit.
it is a criminal trial...due process and all. without witnesses or evidence presented or most likely even a prosecutor i don't know how you are going to get a conviction under constituional law.
 

cepe10

Member
Curt581 said:
How do YOU, cepe10, know whether the officer performed any investigation or not?

In the OP's post, he wrote the officer DID investigate the collision.
when the LEO says point blank it is not his job to determine who is a fault and makes no measurements of skid marks, doesn't observe the road surface conditions, nor take and pics or obtains any tangible evidence. - i think that says enough:)lol not sure why exactly they respond though:)

§ 3714. Careless driving in PA is a criminal charge - so it appears you are using "typical" leo mis-information technique -you can fool some of the people some of the time with that.

don't know what area of the country you are from exactly but in this region on misdeamenor traffic charges there is NO initial court appearance.

OP -when you get your court date go to the courthouse and observe if any of the witnesses are even present...

last week i sat through MD diestrict court and every accident citation was dismissed when no witnesses showed up and the leo siad he did not witness the event - 5 or so of them. In WV a few weeks ago one of our inmpsectors was involved in an accident due to road condtions and a improperly marked curve - he went in for his trial the leo dropped the charged upon seeing that insurance had taken care of the damaages already...

even if you plead no contest you will have a chance of getting reduced points or probation...
 

cepe10

Member
Curt581 said:
Where does it say this is a Criminal Trial?

How do you know this OP wasn't issued a forfeiture citation, making this a CIVIL trial?

Civil actions don't require "Proof beyond a Reasonable Doubt"... it's lowered to Preponderance of Evidence.

Another example proving that you have no idea what you're talking about.

How about this:
If the defendant pleads not guilty, the issuing authority shall try the case in the same manner as trials in criminal cases are conducted in the courts of common pleas when jury trial has been waived

perhaps you are such a narrowminded LEO that you no longer operate within the law yourself...that's not the citizen's fault who pay your salary...
 

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