Well, it finally happened! After 42 years of driving, 30 years (now retired)of driving emergency vehicles (Fire engines and trucks), never having a ticket or accident, I got both!
As I approached an intersection the light changed to yellow and I continued through.....another car waiting to turn left turned in front of me and we hit!
The other car said the light was red and had a next door neighbor in the car so had a witness. The cop gave me a ticket for not stopping at a red. It's my word against theirs. Luckily there was no injuries!!!
My question is is for anyone that has gone to court instead of just paying the ticket....
1. Is it worth trying to go to court for this? The other prson had a witness in the car....I was alone.
2. Is the police officer or other person there at the court hearing hearing?

Any of your experiences would be really helpful!!!
Thanks in advance.

 

OK this is going to be a long one!

I had a similar incident a few years back.

I was approaching an local intersection at night, I had a green light ahead as i was cming into the intersection with no one ahead of me going about 30 mph.

As i was going into the intersection i suddenly saw a car coming from the left and i slammed on my brakes and turned hard right.... but I still T-BONED the car right on his rear tire and he ripped my bumper off and he ended up on the curb ....

As soon as i came to a stop I thought " HOLY **** did i just run a red light and hit this guy???" Then I looked up as i was in the middle of the intersection and my light was still green!

HE ran the red!

I got out of my car and saw if he was ok. Then i asked him why he did not stop at the light, he did not answer and asked his wife to call cab ... I asked him for his insurance and he quickly grab his stuff gave it to me and said sorry.... I could tell he was a bit drunk...

I was only 20 at the time and was pretty freaked out, this guy just totaled my car... I called the police and told them they needed to send someone here as I thought the guy was drunk.... the said no!

I was freaking out and now he was aying it was my fault and i ran the red light and hit him! He said his wife saw it all and i was by myself. Things just went from bad to worse.

Now some random guy approached me and asked me if I was OK and that he saw the whole thing. I asked him " Then you saw that he ran the red light and I was trying to avoid him at the last minute but he was speeding and coming right towards my driver-side door!" He replied "YES, I was stopped at the light he should have been stopped at!" Then he said "Call the police i think this guy is drunk".

I explained that i called and they said since no one is hurst they will not send someone.

I asked him for his info as a witness, and he then explained to me that he was an off duty police officer from another state! ... JACKPOT!

Fast forward a few months.

The driver left the scene after the tow truck came for his car (20 minutes), and then reported to his insurance that I ran the red light and hit him and his wife was witness.

But after speaking with the witness (which just happened to be an off duty police officer) the insutance compaines decided that it was his fault and he must pay for both repairs.

If it was not for the witness that stepped forward and helped me (and that he was a police officer - Judges and layers take there word first) I would have been charged at fault and had to pay and deal with the problem.

I worked at a surf shop at the time, and sent the guy in arizona a few hats and t-shirts as a thank you for his time.

MY ADVICE:

Fight it!

According to California law (not sure about AZ) if you pass the line of an intersection before the light turns red.... then you have legal right of way and can not get a ticket.

Since he did not see it happen he should not have given you a ticket and the judge will throw it out 90% of the time.

Tell your insurance company the full story and how HE IS AT FAULT!

You pay them to fight for you and they above you do not want to pay any claims.... if he was turning into then he should be at fault.....even if the light was yellow.... his over anxiousness caused the accident.

Accident SUCK... but worse is being blamed for one you did not cause and have to pay for!

BUT NEXT TIME PERHAPS STOP OR SLOW DOWN AT A YELLOW LIGHT, unless you are dying and need to get to a hospital, what is a extra minute waiting for the next light.... it could save your life or someone else's next time.

Im not worried about my driving when im on the road... im worried about the million other drivers that have no idea what they are doing.

 

BTW when you fight a ticket in court.. the cop ALWAYS shows up... they get paid for the whole day and get off their normal duty to show up to court.... then they tell the judge that everything they did was right ... the judge agrees and then go home and enjoy the rest of their paid workday.

 

Thanks for the help guys......I would have stopped but just before I entered the intersection as the light turned yellow, I checked my rear view mirror and saw headlights and couldn't tell how close they were so was afraid to stop.
Always appreciate any input.

 

Did you check if the intersection has video cameras? A lot of intersections now have cameras installed and they record some amount of time befoer they cycle over. Not sure about Scottsdale but where I live this is the case at all new intersections. Maybe you get lucky and the whole thing is captured on video?

 

you need a lawyer-i am not one-the cop who wrote up the accident was not a witness-he took your statement and the other party's statement and wrote up a report and gave you a ticket-a lot of cops won't issue a ticket if they don't witness the accident, unless you all agree that you violated the law. many times, if you are both telling different stories, he will give you both a chance to sign a complaint against the other. i am sure that he didn't do much of an ivestigation. you don't want a ticket for running a red light-get an attorney who knows his/her way a traffic court and get the thing reduced to a lesser charge, or at best, dismissed.

 

In British Columbia, we have one insurance company everyone gets insurance regardless of your driving record. When an accident occurs, a passenger in one of the cars has little to no bearing on the decision of fault, it is very likely that they are bias. I would fight the ticket based on the fact that the cop didn't see the accident and everything he based his ticket on was hearsay. If you don't fight it you will be at fault, if you fight it you at least improve your odds of getting cleared of fault. Good luck and sorry about the accident, hopefully everyone is OK.

 

The ticket is the least of your problems as in most states you could erase points with a DMV class but your post leaves me feeling that you were NOT at fault . I don't care if he has a witness .. will he show up in court ? He was in the other guys car ? The officer wasn't there . What if the other driver feels an ache tomorrow and goes the route of litigation on top of insurance claims?

Get an attorney , take photos of the intersection and damage . You should have done so ON the scene . Do your homework and make his job easier to help prove your case and invalidate his claim .

 

Any retired police officers or lawyers out there?

 

I am sorry to hear about the accident. Please keep us posted as the information in this thread could help others out there.

Thanks and good luck, (wish I could actually help here)
Brendan

 

If you are truly not at fault then I would fight the ticket and at fault accident. Could there possibly be cameras at the intersection that this took place?

 

Yeah, I would check to see if the intersection had red light cameras at least!

Next, if I were you, and you feel like you were not at fault, then I would fight it. Based on your story it sounds like the guy was waiting in the intersection to make a left turn. He probably saw your light turn yellow and made a bad assumption that you were going to stop and started his turn.

Jason

 

I am not an attorney and laws differ with state . At the end of my post is a link to the Arizona Bar Association . Under legal resources you can find an attorney and discuss your case .

My guess is that they will ask you to delete this thread and not discuss the case with anyone as they represent you .

Sincerely --I wish you the best . I think that other than stress and inconvenience it will go ok for you .

http://www.azbar.org/

 

Thanks for the replys guys!!!!
Unfortunately no cameras at the intersection.

 

In New York City...


IF your vehicle was inside of the intersection [First] going straight, you would have the right-of-way [A marked crosswalk area, is considered to be part of the intersection].

If his vehicle and yours were both inside of the intersection at the same time, your vehicle would have the right-of-way.

BOTH drivers had a yellow light and are allowed to proceed through the intersection with caution.

A police officer cannot write a summons for a traffic light violation, if he/she did not witness it [common sense].

The officer should have stated, "Operator #1 stated this and Operator #2 stated that" [If he/she did not witness the accident].

Obviously, the other vehicle's passenger will side with that driver [A bias opinion that shouldn't hold any weight].



Where exactly did your vehicle hit the other vehicle?