Reckless driving/ Road rage charge, help!

[wet1]

What is the name of your state? CT

I was involved in an accident last Monday and issued a mandatory court appearance for reckless driving.

Here's exactly want happened...
Driving to work on a dark and moderately foggy morning last Monday I came up on another car. I was unable to pass the vehicle for about a mile until I came to one of only a few passing zones on this 14 mile road. When I got to the passing zone I used my signal and went around the vehicle. A couple of seconds later the driver of the car was coming up on me with his high beams on. I looked in my rear view mirror to see what his problem was, then looked back out in front of me to concentrate on the poor visibility. Within a second afterwords, I see one or two (not really sure) deer in the road which just seemed to pop out due to the poor visibility. I immediately hit the brakes (no lockup, but pretty firm) to avoid hitting any other deer that my be in front of me. At this point Mr. High Beams behind me slams into my rearend pretty hard. FWIW, this was on a .5 mile straight away with mostly woods on one side and a field / woods on the other. Posted speed limit was 45 and we were probably going about 40 when this all happened.

After pulling over, the driver of the other car comes running up to my car yelling at me asking "why the f@#$% are you always pulling this ****?" I just responded "WTF are you talking about?"... then closed my door and waited for the cops to show up (he called), I never even got out of my car to confront him despite being the larger individual.

When the female state cop showed up she first asked me what happened and I gave her a briefly summary. She then went to talk to the other drive and after a couple of minutes she came back over to me.

She started yelling at me saying she knew exactly what had happened before she ever got to the scene, how this was completely road rage, how I lied to her and there was no deer, there couldn't have been any deer because I would have hit them given a deer's lack of traction on a damp road and limited visibility, and that I had no right to be passing in these foggy conditions. She then told me I got pissed at him and slammed on my brakes because he had his high beams on. She also said based on the damage to his car that I must have really locked my brakes due to the considerable damage to his car (although not much damage to my car other than the bumper cover). I asked her to please go look for skid marks, and she barked back to me that there would be none because of the damp conditions.

She then went over to him and started in on him about how it's illegal to high-beam someone, how his ego got bruised because I passed him and he got pissed, and how we were both at fault and this was all road rage. The other driver then talked to her for another minute or two and she went back to her car. I also heard her say something to the effect that if I (the poster) have been driving this road everyday driving like a speed demon, then he should've called the police and reported it, not take matters into his own hands and they would get me on radar if that's the case...

She then called me over to her car, asked me where I worked and the roads I take. Told me how I should be taken in and how she's doing me such a big favor by not taking me in, and next time not to lie to her. After receiving my summons (for 1/28/05) I was told I could leave. I then asked what what was going to happen with the other driver, she told me "he'll be taken care of as well, don't worry". Since arguing was clearly not going to help anything, I just calmly left.

Afterwards, reflecting on the entire thing it occurred to me that I think I've had a run in with this other driver before and hadn't realized it at the time all of the above happened. About a month ago, after I passed a driver around same area. The driver turned on his high-beams and followed me for about 30 miles of my 90 mile commute. I'm guessing it was this same guy and he told the officer how I drove to work to show he had dealt with me in the past... I think this is why she asked me how and where I work. Even if it was the same guy (and I now think it was) I never did anything aggressive and continued to mind my own business on that day despite the fact that he stayed on my azz.


Should I contact an attorney for this charge? What are the likely sentences I could expect if convicted? Is there anything I can do to show this truly wasn't road rage on my part (although I'm pretty sure it was on his part based on his actions and demeanor)?

BTW, I drive about 50,000 miles / year and have one speeding ticket from last year. Sorry about the long post, just want to give all the details.

TIA!

[You Are Guilty]

Here ya go:

Originally Posted by CT vehicle law

Sec. 14-240. Vehicles to be driven reasonable distance apart. (a) No driver of a motor vehicle shall follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having regard for the speed of such vehicles, the traffic upon and the condition of the highway and weather conditions.
(b) No person shall drive a vehicle in such proximity to another vehicle as to obstruct or impede traffic.
(c) Motor vehicles being driven upon any highway in a caravan shall be so operated as to allow sufficient space between such vehicles or combination of vehicles to enable any other vehicle to enter and occupy such space without danger. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to funeral processions or to motor vehicles under official escort or traveling under a special permit.
(d) Violation of any of the provisions of this section shall be an infraction, provided any person operating a commercial vehicle combination in violation of any such provision shall have committed a violation and shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than one hundred fifty dollars.

But wait, it gets better:

Sec. 14-240a. Vehicles to be driven reasonable distance apart. Intent to harass or intimidate. (a) No person operating a motor vehicle shall follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having regard for the speed of such vehicles, the traffic upon and the condition of the roadway or highway and weather conditions, with the intent to harass or intimidate the operator of the preceding motor vehicle.
(b) Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than three hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than thirty days or be both fined and imprisoned for the first offense and for each subsequent offense shall be fined not more than six hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than one year or be both fined and imprisoned.

Good luck.

[wet1]

Thanks You Are Guilty...

I know the other driver was following too close and I would hope that he got sited for that (I don't know), but regardless the trooper gave me the summons for reckless driving because she thought I caused the accident (road rage). I know the other driver had intent to harass or intimidate me, but I received a reckless driving charge.

Is this something I should get a lawyer for? I fear the judge will side with the trooper and tell me I lied about the deer and caused the accident because road rage (even though I didn't).

[You Are Guilty]

A lawyer is never a bad idea. And I should have been clearer - it doesn't matter if you deliberately slammed on your brakes because of a deer or because you sneezed or because you "felt like it." Hitting your brakes is not illegal - but following too closely is.

They will have to prove that you acted with "road rage" to convict you of that charge - and based on what you've said, there doesn't seem to be enough to do so. However, that's why a lawyer is a good idea - a competant one will be able to discredit any evidence against you to ensure that you're found not guilty.

(Of course, if you werre having a road rage moment, then you might want to consider trying to plea the charge down to something less severe.)

[wet1]

How do I go about finding a competant laywer? Court date is next Monday...

Thank you for your help.

[wet1]

Originally Posted by wet1

How do I go about finding a "competant" laywer? Court date is next Monday...

Thank you for your help.

Does anyone have any suggestions???

[You Are Guilty]

Originally Posted by wet1

Does anyone have any suggestions???

Here's one idea:
[url]http://attorneypages.com/[/url]