Car accident in my corvette need your help!!!

[gagtrair985]

Ok so i was leaving work today in my 1987 corvette and as i began to pull out of the exit and something in the front end was messed up, wasnt sure if it was a tirerod or not, but there wasa car off in the distance and i proceeded to give it some gas to go and the front end didnt want to move very much...by then i was already creeped out into the lane and the car was getting near so i decided to punch it a little and i lost control of the car on the other side of the road. i hit and damaged a traffic sign (****ed up my front end on my corvette). what appeared to happen at the moment but i didnt know until later was my tierod broke lose in the left front end when i lost control. I know its had a bad wheel bearing but again didnt think that would happen. anyway the cops were called, they get there etc. The cop makes me sit in the back of his car and begins to ask me questions like ....1. have you been wreckless driving on such and such street? I said no i just left work right there ... 2. were you wearing your seatbelt? i said yes. (there was a witness that stuck around to speak with the cop, not sure what they said but the cop didnt seem like he wanted to believe me. He said there has been numerous reports of me wreckless driving around here today......I was like thats impossible i just left work right there!!!!!!!!!!!!! so he gives me a ticket for careless driving and says i need to appear in court in front of a majestrate and he will be there.....(??) Keep in mind at this point i didnt know it was tierod that broke lose my car was off...so they take pictures of the damage and sign..etc... so he gave me the ticket and says your all set... i had a rough day at work so i wasnt about to give him a hard time at the moment because i was still in shock. So i hoped in my car and the cops left before i started the car up...i started it up and tried to move but the car again wouldnt move...so i had to call my dad over and we had to fix the wheel bearing/tierod to get it home...

Ok so here is my question.... I do intend to fight this ticket because first of all the cop was a **** saying i was wreckless driving all day when i have a time slip from work proving i have been there all DAY just up until the accident....
so if i go in front of the judge and plead not guilty saying that i dont think careless driving is the factor in this case because of the situation and ill explain what happened with the tierod etc...ill show him my timeslip that i was at work all day and also give him a receipt for the wheel bearing... do you think they would ditch the ticket and just possibley make me pay for the traffic sign???

[Ajaxus]

no chance you can catch the car that was coming towards you when this happened? he could explain to the judge or in a written/signed statement that your hard acceleration that put you into the sign was because you were in his way. if you had that, documentation from a mechanic about the tierod, and the timeslip from work i wouldn't see any issues.

the reason i mention the statement is because the judge may dismiss you as wreckless driving up until the accident but he may still uphold that your driving that did put you into that sign was wreckless, regardless of the issues with your car (because cops aren't the only ones that can be d!cks time to time).

you'll definitely need a bit more than the timeslip i would think, it may be enough or it may not be, but the more evidence you produce towards your innocence the better off you are.

good luck with it all.

[gagtrair985]

see my dad is a mechanic and he fixed the bearing...what if i had him come with me to fight along side of me in my defense... i have a receipt with the time and date on it around when the accident happened. I mean my dad knows his stuff and it was clearly the factor in this accident but im not sure if bringing him is such a good idea?

[gagtrair985]

to be completely honest i think the cop is taking the witness's story over mine...all the witness said she heard was tires squeeling like i was peeling out and stuff (hence where he is coming up with me wreckless driving all day or whatever)....which happened by the way because i lost control from the front end problem

[Ajaxus]

you could try, the judge might allow it.

[gagtrair985]

man if i cant get them to ditch the ticket i hate to see what all the fines are going to be....let alone the points from careless driving (i think its 3 in the state of michigan) insurance skyrocketing......

should i take that approach or... plead guilty and say i would pay for the fine and property damage, but proceed with my story saying it was a freak accident and also i work at a hospital and deliver medical products and pick up deliveries etc...if i explained to them that getting these points could put my job in jeopordy. what do you think they could do for me.

[Ajaxus]

eh, for that you would have to consult a lawyer.

personally if you know what you did wasn't reckless and you think that the witness's story can be wrongly interpreted, that along with your timeslip and your dad as a witness might be enough to sway a decent judge. at the least you could try to get them to turn it into a non-moving violation or something of that sort so the fine is lower along with the points.

also check to see if there are any probationary programs you can do where they would drop the ticket and points from your record. these usually are one year in length, if you get no tickets during that time you can get the last one erased. if you do get ticketed while on probation then both tickets go on the record. i can't remember the exact name for this type of probation, but i'm sure someone here will.

[Mike Jung]

...consult a lawyer...
*iagree* x2

Plead NOT GUILTY.
&
Consult a Traffic Lawyer or Traffic Para-Legal Specialist to fight it.

Don't want this messing up your job.

[Sprucegagt]

How could you loose control in a low speed situation while on, I take it, dry pavement? If the tires were spinning you could of just got out of the gas. You knew something was wrong when you first tried to pull out. So why didn't you just back up? Sorry, but with a tierod busted it took a lot of gas to get your car across the road and take out a street sign with your wheels pointed like this \ /.

As for why you got the ticket I think its a mix of you squealing the tires and the mechanical state of your vehicle. Tie rod ends don't just break without some notice.

Sorry if this comes off as me trying to discredit you, but your story is a little confusing.

[bigbenSC]

I would get another mechanic to verify the tie rod problem. Having your dad vouch for you could be considered a conflict of interest.

[gagtrair985]

well what happened was when i left work i left by going behind the buildings which there are many potholes back in there i must of hit one bad enough and then when i rolled to the exit and began to take off the ball joint didnt give in until i turned the wheel all the way... By then i was pulled out completely and in the middle of the road so i wasnt sure what happened because im not a mechanic i paniced and gave it more gas...which is what anyone would have done in this freak accident..the steering was hard to turn and i lost control into the sign. Like i said i didnt know what happened until my dad got there to check it out. by then the cops left and didnt check anything out ....

[cavingman]

How could you loose control in a low speed situation while on, I take it, dry pavement? If the tires were spinning you could of just got out of the gas. You knew something was wrong when you first tried to pull out. So why didn't you just back up? Sorry, but with a tierod busted it took a lot of gas to get your car across the road and take out a street sign with your wheels pointed like this \ /.

As for why you got the ticket I think its a mix of you squealing the tires and the mechanical state of your vehicle. Tie rod ends don't just break without some notice.

Sorry if this comes off as me trying to discredit you, but your story is a little confusing.

They dont break, but if the car was aligned at any point the tie rod could have let go. I've seen guys align a car and they didnt have much room left on one of the tie rods afterwards, they go around the block and the 1 or 2 threads holding the tierod in let go. Next thing you know the wheel is pointing at 3 o'clock and your heading for a curb...


Was the car aligned recently? As in the last year...

[Tailspin]

You should probably get a lawyer. Might cost you a hundred bucks or so but, could save you at least that much or more from the fines. Your evidence seems credible enough. Good luck.

[Sprucegagt]

They dont break, but if the car was aligned at any point the tie rod could have let go. I've seen guys align a car and they didnt have much room left on one of the tie rods afterwards, they go around the block and the 1 or 2 threads holding the tierod in let go. Next thing you know the wheel is pointing at 3 o'clock and your heading for a curb...


Was the car aligned recently? As in the last year...

As much as this may be a real possibility, I do know for a fact that tierod ends do break. I've witnessed it first hand on brand new trucks.

[cavingman]

As much as this may be a real possibility, I do know for a fact that tierod ends do break. I've witnessed it first hand on brand new trucks.

sorry, i meant they DO break. typo :\