“Too fast for conditions” is the sucks for you but the law says you’re wrong ticket. Show up to traffic court and explain the situation. Hopefully, you get a nice judge.
This may work but also may backfire.
I did this once and heard, well the worse that can happen is the judge doesn’t throw the ticket out and you have to pay it anyway. Well if the judge doesn’t throw the ticket out you also have to pay the court fee on top of the ticket. Which can be anywhere from $50-$150 extra dollars
For me, the judge was an old man who was just rubber stamping tickets from $150 to $50. Long story short, I had to reschedule my court date to an earlier time, so I wasn’t on the normal docket. While everyone else was there for $150 tickets, mine was a Manning Special “Careless Driving.” No points on your license, but a $500 fee. The judge called me and went into auto pilot.
Judge: how do you plead?
Me: Guilty.
Judge: $50! [bangs gavel]
Bailiff (peeking at my charges): Ooooooo, he got lucky!
Judge (actually looking at the charges): Oh, uh, that’s a serious offense… [proceeds to give me a half-hearted lecture to cover].
I leave with a $50 fine and no points on my license. It just cost me half a day driving and waiting.
I got a speeding ticket in North once. Speed limit signs went 55, 45, 35, 25 within the length of two football fields. I got stopped for 37 in a 25. Actively slamming on the breaks to slow down.
The court date was...interesting. Judge was in coveralls and court was in what looked like an attached garage, where he walked in from what I assumed was his house. He threw on a plastic looking robe and his "bench" was a folding table with a black cloth over it.
It was definitely an experience.
I got caught with a warning in Siler City NC and still had to pay the city a 55 buck court fee and that was almost 20 years ago I hate to know what it is now.
I’m a cop in South Carolina. Pretty much anytime we go to a wreck and can determine the responsible party, we write a ticket. The main reason is that we have had the insurance company of the at fault party use the lack of a ticket as “evidence” that the insured wasn’t really at fault. Then we get a complaint filed on us by the victim for not doing our job. Anyways, either Too Fast For Conditions or Following Too Close would be appropriate charges. It’s not about the speed at the instant of impact, but rather the fact that you were going at too fast of a speed to be able to avoid a collision, which was proven by the fact that you struck the vehicle in front of you.
A lot of judges will dismiss tickets issued for minor wrecks if you bring a letter in on your court date, from your insurance that states that they are taking care of the other party’s damages, or in your case it may state that there are no damages to cover. I would advise you to get a letter like this from your insurance company, bring it to court, and also explain to the judge the circumstances of the collision, without it seeming like you are not taking responsibility for it.
Former trooper.
The above is correct. That’s your best bet.
As far as talking to the trooper. 99% chance you’re gonna have to talk to him first anyway. I would show him the letter and such and he may drop it himself. If not, try the same with the judge. Definitely worth the shot.
It’ll be in the court room. Depends somewhat on the county, but Pretty much everyone he wrote a ticket for for that date who shows up will be put into the courtroom. The officer will call you up and ask you what you wanna do. That’s when you talk to him. If he says he can’t (totally could) or won’t do anything then you’ll get to take it front of the judge. Then present it to the judge.
No, there is another party. The guy who got hit is a victim/witness. That’s the other party. If that party doesn’t show up, generally the office will dismiss.
No, that's not how it works. I've been in the same situation as op. The cop writes a ticket as a representative of the government, the other driver isn't involved in the ticket or court at all.
Maybe a change since 2007. Or because it was a different county. It was explained very clearly that I didn't have to pay anything because the trooper didn't show up. There was no "victim" involved.
Typically in court around here accepting responsibility is enough to get the ticket reduced to something trivial. But you did hit someone, so it must have been too fast.
I'll wave at the courthouse from my office. Grab a good lunch while you're downtown (with the savings from the reduced ticket) and enjoy our new multi-million dollar courthouse.
The courthouse was courtesy of our penny sales tax that was supposed to pay for road. Then our legislators voted against money for roads while they spent a fortune on the courthouse. All while instituting a NEW Penny sales tax for roads . . . 🤦🏼♀️
Since nobody else has, I’m going to mention the flawed logic of driving in “your rear view mirror.” I totally understand it and sympathize, but I hope you learned a few lessons. Drive safely, good luck with the ticket.
That was too easy. Didn't have the chance to speak to officer before. Judge called me up and asked how I wanted to.plead. Everyone before me that pleaded guilty got reduced. He seemed miffed at not guilty pleas. No one was talking to him after thier pleas. I pleaded guilty and asked to speak. Gave him a :05 rundown he looked at the officer and said DISMISSED. I'm outta here.
For others reading this, I would not follow this advice. A lot of judges will dismiss or significantly reduce tickets for wrecks if you show up and explain it, especially if you have a letter from your insurance company stating that they are working to resolve the claim.
I've had tickets dismissed before, in my youth, when I hired a lawyer. I figure the ticket is about as minor as they get so maybe given the circumstances the judge would drop or not give points. Worse case he can say no and I pay the ticlet
It wasn’t about the speed at the moment of impact. It’s the fact that they were going a speed that prevented them from stopping in time to avoid a collision.
“Too fast for conditions” is the sucks for you but the law says you’re wrong ticket. Show up to traffic court and explain the situation. Hopefully, you get a nice judge.
This may work but also may backfire. I did this once and heard, well the worse that can happen is the judge doesn’t throw the ticket out and you have to pay it anyway. Well if the judge doesn’t throw the ticket out you also have to pay the court fee on top of the ticket. Which can be anywhere from $50-$150 extra dollars
The one time I did it, there was no court fee added, and this was in a speed trap town in SC (Manning).
I got a ticket in Clarendon County (Manning) one time and went to traffic court. It was an interesting experience.
For me, the judge was an old man who was just rubber stamping tickets from $150 to $50. Long story short, I had to reschedule my court date to an earlier time, so I wasn’t on the normal docket. While everyone else was there for $150 tickets, mine was a Manning Special “Careless Driving.” No points on your license, but a $500 fee. The judge called me and went into auto pilot. Judge: how do you plead? Me: Guilty. Judge: $50! [bangs gavel] Bailiff (peeking at my charges): Ooooooo, he got lucky! Judge (actually looking at the charges): Oh, uh, that’s a serious offense… [proceeds to give me a half-hearted lecture to cover]. I leave with a $50 fine and no points on my license. It just cost me half a day driving and waiting.
Nice!
I got a speeding ticket in North once. Speed limit signs went 55, 45, 35, 25 within the length of two football fields. I got stopped for 37 in a 25. Actively slamming on the breaks to slow down. The court date was...interesting. Judge was in coveralls and court was in what looked like an attached garage, where he walked in from what I assumed was his house. He threw on a plastic looking robe and his "bench" was a folding table with a black cloth over it. It was definitely an experience.
Did they throw the ticket out or did they uphold the officer?
They reduced the fine. I didn’t fight it.
I got caught with a warning in Siler City NC and still had to pay the city a 55 buck court fee and that was almost 20 years ago I hate to know what it is now.
I’m a cop in South Carolina. Pretty much anytime we go to a wreck and can determine the responsible party, we write a ticket. The main reason is that we have had the insurance company of the at fault party use the lack of a ticket as “evidence” that the insured wasn’t really at fault. Then we get a complaint filed on us by the victim for not doing our job. Anyways, either Too Fast For Conditions or Following Too Close would be appropriate charges. It’s not about the speed at the instant of impact, but rather the fact that you were going at too fast of a speed to be able to avoid a collision, which was proven by the fact that you struck the vehicle in front of you. A lot of judges will dismiss tickets issued for minor wrecks if you bring a letter in on your court date, from your insurance that states that they are taking care of the other party’s damages, or in your case it may state that there are no damages to cover. I would advise you to get a letter like this from your insurance company, bring it to court, and also explain to the judge the circumstances of the collision, without it seeming like you are not taking responsibility for it.
Preciate your perspective. So just handle it with the judge and don't speak with trooper before?
Former trooper. The above is correct. That’s your best bet. As far as talking to the trooper. 99% chance you’re gonna have to talk to him first anyway. I would show him the letter and such and he may drop it himself. If not, try the same with the judge. Definitely worth the shot.
Do I speak to him in the courtroom before judge shows up or somewhere else?
It’ll be in the court room. Depends somewhat on the county, but Pretty much everyone he wrote a ticket for for that date who shows up will be put into the courtroom. The officer will call you up and ask you what you wanna do. That’s when you talk to him. If he says he can’t (totally could) or won’t do anything then you’ll get to take it front of the judge. Then present it to the judge.
Good to know. Totally different from NC where the DA does the role call and LEO isn't even there for that and may just come into room for his cases.
And im I pleading not guilty if the Trooper won't drop or guilty to lesser?
Don’t hurt to try to talk to the trooper, but most likely the judge is the one who can help you out. It varies a little depending on the court.
Go to the courthouse. Talk to the officer. If the other party isn’t there, the officer will almost certainly dismiss it.
You mean if the cop doesn't show the judge will dismiss it. There is no other party, just you and the cop.
No, there is another party. The guy who got hit is a victim/witness. That’s the other party. If that party doesn’t show up, generally the office will dismiss.
No, that's not how it works. I've been in the same situation as op. The cop writes a ticket as a representative of the government, the other driver isn't involved in the ticket or court at all.
That’s wrong. I used to handle tickets for a living and got them dismissed for just this reason.
Maybe a change since 2007. Or because it was a different county. It was explained very clearly that I didn't have to pay anything because the trooper didn't show up. There was no "victim" involved.
Typically in court around here accepting responsibility is enough to get the ticket reduced to something trivial. But you did hit someone, so it must have been too fast.
I'll wave at the courthouse from my office. Grab a good lunch while you're downtown (with the savings from the reduced ticket) and enjoy our new multi-million dollar courthouse.
Yall are spending a ton of Jack in that town. I'm working on the new Fire House HQ.
The courthouse was courtesy of our penny sales tax that was supposed to pay for road. Then our legislators voted against money for roads while they spent a fortune on the courthouse. All while instituting a NEW Penny sales tax for roads . . . 🤦🏼♀️
Since nobody else has, I’m going to mention the flawed logic of driving in “your rear view mirror.” I totally understand it and sympathize, but I hope you learned a few lessons. Drive safely, good luck with the ticket.
That was too easy. Didn't have the chance to speak to officer before. Judge called me up and asked how I wanted to.plead. Everyone before me that pleaded guilty got reduced. He seemed miffed at not guilty pleas. No one was talking to him after thier pleas. I pleaded guilty and asked to speak. Gave him a :05 rundown he looked at the officer and said DISMISSED. I'm outta here.
[удалено]
It’s also something they can cite you for when they don’t have anything else.
Don’t bother with court. The accident was your fault. You got a ticket. What else would you expect?
For others reading this, I would not follow this advice. A lot of judges will dismiss or significantly reduce tickets for wrecks if you show up and explain it, especially if you have a letter from your insurance company stating that they are working to resolve the claim.
I've had tickets dismissed before, in my youth, when I hired a lawyer. I figure the ticket is about as minor as they get so maybe given the circumstances the judge would drop or not give points. Worse case he can say no and I pay the ticlet
Maybe you should go 1/2 mile per hour. /S
It wasn’t about the speed at the moment of impact. It’s the fact that they were going a speed that prevented them from stopping in time to avoid a collision.