Boxster no-ticket crash final answer

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

For those of you who participated in the ultimately endless thread about my wife's Boxster crash and the fact that the cop didn't give a ticket to the guy who plainly rear-ended her at considerable speed, totaling the car:

After talking to a friend who is a local cop, here's why: New York State law requires that a policeman either witness anything he issues a citation for or finds an eyewitness who will swear out a deposition.

Makes sense to me, particularly because I got a very expensive-to-defend "reckless driving" citation in Virginia several years ago from a deputy sherriff who never saw the accident--a press-event Jeep Liberty rollover--and assumed I had been reckless simply because the car was on its side.

True, I was reckless to ever have gotten into the piece of scheiss in the first place...

Stephan

[RallyJon]

or finds an eyewitness who will swear out a deposition

Fascinating! This may be a solution to the punk who drives by my house at 60+ in a 35 zone in his lowered pickup truck. I'll have to ask the local police if they'll cite him based on my deposition.

[yelcab1]

Stephan, in our everyday rant, we keep forgetting our wonderful Constitution and the presumption of innocence. If the accident has caused a death, for example, the police may have reconstructed the accident to find cause and charge the perpetrator. But if everyone made out OK, then ... off to the next ticket scene they go.

Rallyjon, you would still be challenged in court to prove how you get to the speed estimate, whether your eye is calibrated, when was the last time your calibration was, and whether you would make a good eye witnessm (how many times did you speed, got tickets, driving schools, suspended license, etc...). Maybe it is best to walk down to his house, knock on his door, calmly inform him that he drives too fast in the neighborhood where children play and that he may be financially liable for any accidents he might cause. And, you will rip his head off if he runs into your kid(s).

That would work on me.

[Rikao4]

Well ,my twit (speeder in the hood) was very regular&timely, so when I got my morning brew I mentioned it to our "Officers" who came and waited for him, turned out great, 48 in a 20,no insurance+plus outstanding warrant, oh and the best part"open beer container"
Arrested on the spot,car towed,pending DUI charges as well....bought "Mike "coffee and donuts the following morning..no speeder since.
Rika

[pwd72s]

Rika? This I love! Once in a great while, there IS justice on this world.

[450knotOffice]

That was perfect!

[randywebb]

re the pckup -- my city will loan radar guns to citizen groups for their neighborhood use -- that's to see if traffic calming is needed, not to indiv. enforcement. But the pickup driver may not know that...

[glenncal1]

In colorado if you rear end someone, run off the road etc., you will get a ticket whether the cop witnessed or not.

[porschenut]

Originally posted by glenncal1
In colorado if you rear end someone, run off the road etc., you will get a ticket whether the cop witnessed or not.

Quite correct. The presumption is that someone broke the law or an accident wouldn't have happened. A local Denver cop told me that they are REQUIRED to give someone a ticket in every accident, based on their judgement of who was at fault. He also said that in a rear-ender situation, the person who did the rear-ending automatically gets the ticket.

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

All we've just demonstrated is that different states have different laws. Which is what started the Civil War, as I remember. (Yeah, I know, it was more complex than that...)

Stephan

[yelcab1]

Originally posted by glenncal1
In colorado if you rear end someone, run off the road etc., you will get a ticket whether the cop witnessed or not.

They still have to prove it if you fight the ticket. And I would.

[jluetjen]

Originally posted by Rikao4
Well ,my twit (speeder in the hood) was very regular&timely, so when I got my morning brew I mentioned it to our "Officers" who came and waited for him, turned out great, 48 in a 20,no insurance+plus outstanding warrant, oh and the best part"open beer container"
Arrested on the spot,car towed,pending DUI charges as well....bought "Mike "coffee and donuts the following morning..no speeder since.
Rika

Imagine the wailing and knashing of teeth if that guy drove a 911 and posted on this board? Oh the cries and posturing about infringment of liberty, police harassment, the fact that there was no one on the road, etc. etc. etc.


PS: I've got the same problem with people speeding past my house.

[89911]

Ironic, the day I read this, this pops up on my homepage:

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Insurance/Insureyourcar/P69294.asp

[IROC]

Originally posted by glenncal1
In colorado if you rear end someone, run off the road etc., you will get a ticket whether the cop witnessed or not.

When I was rear-ended here in Alabama, the woman who hit me was not given a ticket. I asked the officer about it and he said that they only issued tickets in the event someone was injured. On the police report, it was noted that she "performed an improper lane change manuever" - which is silly since it was a two lane road and ran right into the back of me while I was sitting still.

No ticket, though.

Mike

[cjr1]

My daughter was recently rearended while at a stop light.Lady not paying attention,phone,radio,whatever.She was cited for "failure to assure clear distance" on the spot.Saturn was totally wiped out.My daughters Bravada got fixed.Very Lucky she had good insurance.

Chris

3.2 rebuild underway,heads & cams @ EBS.......

[dvkk]

Originally posted by Formerly Steve Wilkinson

New York State law requires that a policeman either witness anything he issues a citation for or finds an eyewitness who will swear out a deposition.

You should point out that the cop is the witness to the other driver admitting that they weren't paying attention.

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

Yes, that's true. It affects, in our favor, litigation. But it doesn't allow the cop to issue a ticket.

Stephan

[RoninLB]

I'm no pro on any of this but I do understand it's a complicated matter in many areas. That said then I believe that the bottom line will be determined by the power of Steve's law firm. Power will hopefully be expressed in Steve getting everything he & his bride reasonably need from the bureauracies with those mgt groups supporting Steve to a happy ending. Those results do happen.

[randywebb]

"When I was rear-ended here in Alabama, the woman who hit me was not given a ticket."

- you aren't far from the site where Deliverance was filmed....