Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Anyone have experience with Livingston NJ accidents? My wife was stopped at a light and thought the traffic started moving rear ended the guy in front of her. light damage, mostly just the other guy's bumped was slightly dislodged.
the officer that came gave her a careless driving ticket. he said, because she caused the accident.
is this normal? every accident, whomever caused it, gets a careless driving ticket?!
Good question. I don't think there is a standard answer. In reality it probably depends because maybe the cop gets to write another ticket. In the days when many people fought tickets in court they would say that if the cop was not there and did not see the accident the judge would dismiss it because it was based on hearsay evidence unless some witness who actually saw what happened was brought into court. You may have to go to court several times for that to happen. Not many people bother. They usually offer you the standard deal of changing it to "unsafe driving / zero points" but that is not the best deal because it still shows on your record and insurance quotes can look that up.
How are you drawing the conclusion that "every accident" in Livingston gets a careless driving ticket? Are you familiar with other accidents in town where people got this ticket? Otherwise you can't really generalize based on 1 experience.
yeah i'm typipcally not all gung ho about fighting tickets, but this seems odd. if she was doing something illegal to cause an accident, then ok. but it was just an accident at a stoplight.
Based on what you describe it does sound like careless driving to me. You say she thought the cars were moving ahead of her. If they really weren't moving and she started driving then it sounds like she wasn't paying close enough attention. I mean, it's not that hard to tell if the car in front of you has moved or not. I guess I'm just not sure why you don't think this would be considered careless.
Had she say, hit a car that darted out in front of her, that probably wouldn't be considered careless.
yeah, possibly. that's a fairly loose definition of careless in my opinion. but i see what you're saying.
it just strikes me as odd that two cars can drive away with nothing but some scuff marks and the cops feels it's appropriate to write a careless driving summons. and i'm not just saying this cause it's my wife. cause if she did something wrong, i have no trouble with getting a ticket. oh well. more money to NJ i guess. lol
I don't think the severity of damage plays a huge role. Once a cop has been called to an accident and one driver is clearly to blame, I think they are usually subject to a ticket.
I don't think the severity of damage plays a huge role. Once a cop has been called to an accident and one driver is clearly to blame, I think they are usually subject to a ticket.
i guess so. no problem paying it then. i just found it odd. seems like an incentive to NOT call a cop to the scene, especially for minor accidents.
i guess so. no problem paying it then. i just found it odd. seems like an incentive to NOT call a cop to the scene, especially for minor accidents.
I'm sure the person that got hit would want to call the cop though...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
