Transportation and Vehicle Safety: Unsafe speed for conditions., career in law enforcement, holiday rush

Question
Hi I was in an accident a couple days before Christmas and just received a citation for "unsafe speed for conditions". I was traveling through an intersection on a green light when the car in front of me slammed on the brakes and I was unable to stop in time. I was traveling 30-35 mph (posted speed 40)the same speed as all the cars around me. I was in the far left lane on a 6 lane street. There was a decent amount of traffic due to the holiday rush. The impact was pretty slight but due to the angle ( my car is pretty low ) my car suffered a decent amount of front end damage. It looked a lot worse then it was the hood took the blunt of the damage and it was a bit bent up. As far as i know the rear bumper on the other car was cracked and that was all that was damaged. The police department arrived 15+ minutes after the accident and the traffic had gotten worse. By the time i walked with the officer to the intersection and showed him what had happened about an hour had passed and the traffic had gotten pretty horrible. There was a witness that came forward. They where situated in the left hand turn lane on the cross street across 2 lines of traffic from where the accident took place. They told me at the scene that they didn't think I was going too fast or was too close. On the citation it says I was driving approx 40 mph. I drive large moving trucks for one of my jobs and I'm use to driving a wide range of vehicles and in bad conditions. I really think that it was an unfortunate accident I don't believe I was driving at a speed that was unsafe for the conditions.

I was wondering what my options would be. I have never received as much as a parking ticket so I'm really not familiar with the process. The accident has already cost me over 1000 and I really want to avoid having to pay an expensive ticket. I'm also pursuing a career in law enforcement and I don't want something like this to have an effect upon that.

Thanks for the help!

Answer
Hello Travis and welcome to AllExperts!

Firstly, the section you were cited for is a general catch-all section for any unsafe practice involving speed that has either caused an accident or could cause one.

The bottom line for all drivers of motor vehicles is that they operate their vehicles safely, meaning that they will not engage in any practice that could cause an accident. Accidents are usually caused by one of the following:

* Inattention
* Distraction
* Doing anything that takes ones eyes off the road and other vehicles
* Not clearing a lane before entry
* Following too closely
* Unsafe speed for conditions
* Right-of-way violations

Anytime one of these unsafe actions occur at intersections, and especially left hand turns through intersections, an accident is always waiting to happen.

I am going to accept for now that the skid marks and other observed evidence at the scene confirmed you and the driver ahead of you were at or below the posted speed limit.

This being the case, you were either traveling too close to the vehicle in front of you or your attention was somehow distracted, causing an inability to stop in time.

Because the officer was not there to observe this accident, he cannot cite you for following too close or inattention to driving. However, the slower you drive, the more time you have to observe/perceive a problem, decide how you will respond to a problem, and then time to act on it. Because there obviously was not enough of this time to avoid a collision, your speed was too fast for conditions present.

Remember that the safe speed for conditions have nothing to do with the posted speed. It is based on density of traffic, pedestrians, weather and road conditions, observations of dangerous driving patterns around you and the like, and always driving with the ability to remain safe within it.

I am sorry to say that the citation seems viable and has standing.

I highly recommend driving school as this will remove this citation from your DMV record and your insurance company will not know about it, nor you employer. You apparently are a very safe driver as this is your first ticket/accident, and sadly you experienced a defensive driving lesson the hard way.

Sadly Travis, you do not want to argue this case before the court as you will lose. Plead no contest and ask for driving school. This is the only other choice you really have.

I wish you the best Travis!

Terry