What is the name of your state? Idaho
Sum****:
Driver way in front of me slowly merged into center turn lane [3 lane road] with no blinkers. As I finally got close enough to pass by him, he turned on right blinker and made right turn into a driveway from the center lane - until I hit him.
I was cited for following too close.
How can I fight this ticket?
Details:
=========
9:30pm in dark after rain, road dry but wet on shoulder and center lane. I was driving southbound @ 35mph in 35 zone when I saw a truck 100-150 yards ahead of me moving into the center turn lane. There was subdivision with 2 entrances to left. After 10-15 seconds when I finally caught up to the truck, truck was still only just inside the center line. I was perhaps 60-80ft behind him [I was in right lane, he was in center lane] when he turned on his right blinker and started merging into my lane - I thought he had decided to not turn left after all. Or so it looked. He turned right right in front of me and I couldn't miss him since he was taking up both lanes and I had no where to go. My front left hit him just in front of his right rear tirewell. No witnesses.
His story: There is a telephone pole on inside corner of his driveway so he has to swing out a little bit, but he turned his blinker on. [Telephone pole is 6+ feet from fog line and 3 feet off road and more than 10 feet from the edge of his inner driveway radius.]
Investigating officer found a single skid mark and some crash debris and decided that he "was only slightly offset in the lane" with not enough room for me to pass on the right.
Other interesting information:
======================
Other driver did not have proof of insurance [citable offense] but was not cited. As it turns out, he was UNINSURED.
Other driver admitted to not having his seatbelt on - was not cited.
The next morning, I found a total of 6 skid marks - including one completely under my truck [on wet shoulder, in dark]
My copy of accident report form filled out by officer had NO insurance info for the other driver, and was missing the final digit on his phone number.
During wait for police [30 minutes], other driver told me that he had no idea accident was happening, didn't know until he felt the bump.
My defense plan:
==============
Show that officer was not thorough in his investigation.
-Did not get to the bottom of other driver's lack of proof of insurance
-Did not cite other driver for lack of seatbelt
-Did not fill out the accident report form completely
-Did not ASK if either vehicle had been moved after the accident [his had scraping road since wheel was knocked off; mine hadn't been]
-Did not see other skid marks.
-Other driver LIED to officer during investigation making the officer believe that he had insurance.
I know that the other skid marks are not admissible, strictly speaking. At least, I would not hope to be able to prove that HE was guilty of improper right turn. But I believe they discredit the officer's account of what happened based on incomplete information.
[I believe that a scale drawing of accident scene with skid marks - including ones under my truck - show that the single skid mark the officer had seen MUST have been his right rear wheel after impact. This places his truck at an angle with right rear wheel only 30 inches right of center lane line. To turn his long wheel base truck to that angle, he was have started in center lane.]
My questions:
1. Critique my defense strategy.
2. How long does other driver have to be in the center lane before he has to yield to me in the right lane?
3. Shouldn't the officer have given less credibility to his story since he had financial motive to NOT be found at fault?
4. How will the officer prove that I was following the other driver since he was in the other lane?
Big thank you.
Jimboha
===========
Sum****:
Driver way in front of me slowly merged into center turn lane [3 lane road] with no blinkers. As I finally got close enough to pass by him, he turned on right blinker and made right turn into a driveway from the center lane - until I hit him.
I was cited for following too close.
How can I fight this ticket?
Details:
=========
9:30pm in dark after rain, road dry but wet on shoulder and center lane. I was driving southbound @ 35mph in 35 zone when I saw a truck 100-150 yards ahead of me moving into the center turn lane. There was subdivision with 2 entrances to left. After 10-15 seconds when I finally caught up to the truck, truck was still only just inside the center line. I was perhaps 60-80ft behind him [I was in right lane, he was in center lane] when he turned on his right blinker and started merging into my lane - I thought he had decided to not turn left after all. Or so it looked. He turned right right in front of me and I couldn't miss him since he was taking up both lanes and I had no where to go. My front left hit him just in front of his right rear tirewell. No witnesses.
His story: There is a telephone pole on inside corner of his driveway so he has to swing out a little bit, but he turned his blinker on. [Telephone pole is 6+ feet from fog line and 3 feet off road and more than 10 feet from the edge of his inner driveway radius.]
Investigating officer found a single skid mark and some crash debris and decided that he "was only slightly offset in the lane" with not enough room for me to pass on the right.
Other interesting information:
======================
Other driver did not have proof of insurance [citable offense] but was not cited. As it turns out, he was UNINSURED.
Other driver admitted to not having his seatbelt on - was not cited.
The next morning, I found a total of 6 skid marks - including one completely under my truck [on wet shoulder, in dark]
My copy of accident report form filled out by officer had NO insurance info for the other driver, and was missing the final digit on his phone number.
During wait for police [30 minutes], other driver told me that he had no idea accident was happening, didn't know until he felt the bump.
My defense plan:
==============
Show that officer was not thorough in his investigation.
-Did not get to the bottom of other driver's lack of proof of insurance
-Did not cite other driver for lack of seatbelt
-Did not fill out the accident report form completely
-Did not ASK if either vehicle had been moved after the accident [his had scraping road since wheel was knocked off; mine hadn't been]
-Did not see other skid marks.
-Other driver LIED to officer during investigation making the officer believe that he had insurance.
I know that the other skid marks are not admissible, strictly speaking. At least, I would not hope to be able to prove that HE was guilty of improper right turn. But I believe they discredit the officer's account of what happened based on incomplete information.
[I believe that a scale drawing of accident scene with skid marks - including ones under my truck - show that the single skid mark the officer had seen MUST have been his right rear wheel after impact. This places his truck at an angle with right rear wheel only 30 inches right of center lane line. To turn his long wheel base truck to that angle, he was have started in center lane.]
My questions:
1. Critique my defense strategy.
2. How long does other driver have to be in the center lane before he has to yield to me in the right lane?
3. Shouldn't the officer have given less credibility to his story since he had financial motive to NOT be found at fault?
4. How will the officer prove that I was following the other driver since he was in the other lane?
Big thank you.
Jimboha
===========
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