What can I do.....

....To save my butt!!!!....
I am a 17 year old female driver in Minnesota on a provisional license(well was driving). I have two prior speeding violations and about a week ago I got a third, but it was horrible. I got clocked on the radar at 61 in a 30. So obviously that is just plain stupidity on my part and I understand that. He wrote me a citation for speeding and then gave me a court date being it was my third conviction. He was in an unmarked jeep cherokee. So I did not see the officer for a little bit, until I stopped at a stop sign and was about to turn and I saw a vehicle coming at a high rate of speed and I noticed that the headlights were blinking back and forth. That is the only way I knew it was a cop. So I finished turning and was going to pull over to the side,but there was no room so I pulled into the first available parking space of an appartment building. As I was pulling in to the spot my car wouldnt turn all the way so I attempted to stop and my car slid on ice into a parked car. I backed up and straightened my car out. By that time the officer was there. He thought I was trying to flee him and went into the the other entrance to see if he could head me off. I was not trying to flee therefore I parked. There was a witness to my accident and so I was intending on telling the officer knowing that if I did not the witness would have. I was crying and very frightened because I knew I was basically screwed. The officer wrote me the ticket and gave me a court date. Then he got in his jeep and sped away. I forgot about my hit because it really wasnt much of anything and I was freaking out way too much that it slipped my mind. I was intending on calling him when I got to work.But it was too late he was already at my house asking for me. So I called him immediately admitted to hitting the car and explained why I neglected to tell him. I gave him my insurance information and he told me to meet him after I got off work. So I did and he took a picture of my car to see what damage I had done. There was a small scratch on the car and that is all. I was then given a second citation and told to rip up the first one (which I did not do). The second one did not include speeding. It gave 3 new violations. Careless driving, reckless driving and leaving the scene of property damage. I went to the police station the next day and obtained a copy of the police report. Where he totally wrote a very nice "STORY!!!" about the whole incident and also included that he was filing a case with the county attorney to charge me with fleeing a peace officer. If I get a felony i will not be able to join the Air Force and if I lose my license for more than a year I will not be able to attend post secondary college. I dont know what I can do or what I should do or what I really have coming to me. HELP!!!Im SCREWED!!!

[racer72]

You have what is known as a self inflicted idiocy. You are suppose to go the speed limit all the time, not when cops in marked cars are around. You are going to lose your PRIVELIGE to drive now because of it. I would suggest that you and your parents obtain a good, no very good attorney to handle your case. Good luck.

Thank you for that very educated answer and reinforcing what I already know. I am getting a good attorney I know I screwed up bad and its a very changing experience for me. Im just wondering what I have to expect. I realize I will lose my license I want to know for how long. I havent even lost it yet and I refuse to drive. I know what I did was very stupid and it happens. But my livelyhood is affected dramatically and that is important to me. It is something that will make me think twice before EVER speeding. I dont need to be reprimanded again and again!!!All I need is a little advice on my best way to go about it. The only reason I mentioned unmarked would be to let the reader know why I didnt stop immediately and didnt realize he was there immediately. I have no other convictions I dont drink I dont smoke I just speed. Its a habit that Im definitely going to break.

How are your parents handling this?

With all your experience at 17 you may qualify as a police officer.
Did you save your bicycle? It might be wise to air up the tires before taking off.
I know I shouldnt pick on you so let me tell you that when I first got my liscense years ago I had three minor accidents in two weeks and boy was my dad mad.
The trick is to do some serious psyco analysis of yourself and realize why your not taking driving a car serious.
When you can do that you will be mature enough to drive.
I would suspect that the court will temporarily suspend your liscense and may have you cleaning court bathrooms for a while so dont tell your friends about this.
Good luck to you sweety.

I do realize how important it is to be able to drive now that its gone. I have the problem with being a visual learning. I have to be pretty much smacked up side the head. It feels now like Ive been hit with a bat. Im very depressed about the whole situation. I make pretty good wages at my job (11.22) so now I am working more hours and putting my 600 dollar tax return in the bank. I am fronting all the money for my attorney and fines. My parents are helping me along but I definitely pay for my own mistakes. I am not someone that is blaming others or putting the bill on my parents. I will be taking care of all the costs myself. I also quit drivign all together even though I still have my license until i go to court. I know that everything that happened really sucks and it was dumb on my part, but its too late for what ifs now I need to do my best to keep my life on track because this really isnt helping. This is a key transition in my life. I talked to my recruiter and he told me not to worry he will take care of the legal trouble he just told me not to lose alot of sleep and stay in shape and qualified. I dont really need badgering from anyone else. Im ashamed of myself enough. Just because Im "only 17" doesnt mean that im completely ignorant. Everyone does stupid things in their life. Now Im just trying to figure out how i can make up for my wrongdoing. Right now I feel about 30 ...well I have for a long time and I feel older everyday this weight bears down on me and I dont know what is coming to me. That is the hardest. Just wish me luck and give good advice.I dont want to hear the parent bull**** or how ignorant I am. I KNOW!!! Just send me some Zoloft and it will be all good

The judge will decide but you can always go to church and confess.Most of us on this board have already forgiven you so stop beating yourself.

My wife and I are going to court in the morning for a similar citation and similar event. We are also from Minnesota. My wife was t-boned coming from a stop sign across two lanes of south bound traffic. This was her fault and she was cited for inattentive driving. I'll give the officer that one, but the next citation I'm not to clear on - Injury Hit and Run. After she was hit her car spun almost 360 degrees. She hit her head on the drivers door window hard enough to give her a slight concussion. She didn't realize what happened after striking her head and kept driving, but in the south bound direction. She realized about 1/2 mile away that she didn't have her glasses on and pulled over. Note: She can't function without her glasses or contacts so it's amazing that she made it the 1/2 mile. Everything started to come slightly back to her at this point and she noticed the lights from the police. She drove back to the scene of the accident on her own will. Is this a legitamate charge? One of the officers also accused her of having a passenger and dropping the individual off along side the road. According to her he was very persistant about it and kept saying, "you might as well confess now, it will be a lot easier on you." I'm kind of confused about the whole situation and a little paranoid there is something going on that my wife and I are not aware of. Any comments, suggestions??

I picked my wife up shortly after they had cleared the scene and can attest that she was disorientated even then.

The person that hit her did complain of injuries, but did not require an ambulance. She was transported by a family member according to the police report.

sounds like leaving the scene of a crash which is a very serious charge.You better get a lawyer right away.And to everyone whenever you are injured in an accident and are not sure of your condition you are better off telling the officer if he dosent ask that you want an ambulance because if complications arise on the way to the hospital they will be able to treat you and your not giving the insurance company any reason to fight medical claims due to transporting yourself or others to the hospital.