"Following Too Closely" ticket in accident

[jackdonald]

i was in an accident where i rear ended a car. i was in the left lane (4 lane road) following a minivan that was going below the speed limit (35 mph), at which time i decided to change to the right lane in order to pass them. directly after making the change, a car was at or near a complete stop in front of me in the right lane. i hadn't seen the car until i had made the lane change. my brakes locked and i slid directly into the back of the car. the officer issued me a ticket for "following too closely" without clarifying what had happened. the officer was under the impression that i had been following the car that i had hit. on the contrary, i did not even see the car i had hit until after the lane change. should i contest the entire ticket?

 

[prairielaw3]

Conult with an attorney who does traffic laws defense in your area, many will at least do a brief consult for free. Heshe ay be better able to advise if anything can be gained from fighting it under your state's laws; but generaly the laws impose a duty on those who change lanes to be sure they can do so safely, and a least some state's rules have limited or no duty on cars in alan of travel to cars behind them except when a car may be deviating lanes of travel, so if such rules appl in your state, a defense to the tickets ma be difficult; but conult with an attorney in your state to be sure.

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George H. Senteney
http://www.prairielaw.com

 

[The Legal Shoppe]

Contact your insurance company and ask them whether you should contest the ticket. Your policy may provide for the cost of a lawyer to attend the traffic hearing.

Ask the court if they have a defensive driving school option. In some states this option results in a dismissal of the ticket.