Some Traffic Ticket Fighters Are Stupid & Incompetent (Cousin Charged)

[daveyflakes]

That's an interesting point, though. it's not the other driver who's pressing charges, right?

Does every collision (where police are involved) end up with the at-fault driver being charged with an HTA offense?

Why DID there have to be charges laid? Serious question.

[Thunder Fox]

I don't see any argument here, don't we riders complain all blind left turners all the time? if your bike T-bone someone stop in the middle when left turn (for whatever reason), won't you get mad?

for $450 to plea bargain, sorry, it's expensive and you could do it your own (but you didn't)
do they care your insurance go up? no, they just do the easiest way and get out of court, trial's gonna set at the last moment (end of day)
na, they're not stupid, just $450 is not enough to ask them fight that hard

[Rob MacLennan]

That's an interesting point, though. it's not the other driver who's pressing charges, right?

Does every collision (where police are involved) end up with the at-fault driver being charged with an HTA offense?

Why DID there have to be charges laid? Serious question.

No, charges aren't always laid. Sometimes an officer will exercise his discretion not to, because of circumstances. For example I avoided getting taken out by a car but was hit by the rider behind me, who lost control under braking while trying to avoid the same issue. The driver left the scene, probably never knowing the carnage that her actions precipitated. No charges laid, though the other rider could have been found at fault.

[chrias]

I'm willing to bet the OP slammed on their brakes and the reason there was no skid marks was most likely due to the ABS being activated.

You could also look at this situation differently. What if you're on your motorcycle and your cousin pulled this move on you and you hit her? Would you still think the same way as you are doing right now? Most likely not.

[k-man69]

Oh Im not denying its her fault, Im saying she should had not been charged at all with anything and especially "careless driving"?? C'mon....

WTF? You're saying it's her fault but yet she shouldn't be charged with anything?

She caused the accident by not making sure the roadway was clear before making a left turn. So what if pedestrians were crossing in front of her, it's her responsibility to make sure she could make the left turn safely.

[rafiki911]

First of all learn how to read, it was my cousin, and second of all she could have defended herself by saying... the TRUTH, how about that? She had no choice but to stop in her tracks to avoid killing 2 pedestrians,

"Sir I did not violate his right of way, I was forced to violate it when I suddenly saw the two people crossing my path and this gentleman had a LOT of time to stop and let the record show that there were no skid marks on the road which shows you that the oncoming driver wasn't paying attention, in his place when someone besides me makes a stop in the middle of the road I also stop because maybe children or geese are crossing the street, so Mr.Judge I do not deserve this charge since the cop was not even present to see the precarious situation and why all this happened".

Sorry but if she didn't have a clear path then she is making an unsafe turn. She should not be in the middle of the turn unless she can go through. If there are pedestrians or cars in the way she shouldn't have gone through. Your lucky you didn't fight it the way you wanted cause you would have lost and gotten her charged.

Shame on your cousin for putting the pedestrians in harms way.

[Bandit Bill]

This is going back some years, but this accident sounds exactly like the same circumstances in which my Grandfather had an accident.

If you don't see the pedestrian about to cross, it's either carelessness in failing to observe pedestrians about to cross, or a physical/visual impairment at work in the incident, or both - it's not the fault of another driver in an oncoming lane, with right of way.

They yanked my Grandfather's driving licence, as a consequence of the incident. He never got it back.

Mebbie your cousin needs to either get an eye test, or take a driving refresher, along with paying her fines?

[2smokewilleh]

a cop came over and asked her if she wanted to say her side of the story but warned us that whatever we said was going to be used against us in any legal contest so we declined to say our side of the story because I told my cousin that would give us more time to think about it.

You wonder why your cousin was charged? Declining to tell the cop at the scene of the accident what happened probably prompted the higher charge. Maybe if he just told the officer on scene what happened your cousin may have only been charged with turn not in safety from the start.

I think you screwed up your cousin's chance from the start by telling him not to provide their side of the story at the scene. You should be grateful that the charged was reduced from careless driving, because as you've described it, your cousin failed to observe a hazard, initiated a turn when when way was not clear, turned left infront of an oncomming vehicle causing a collision, i think that the charge was not inappropriate or undeserved.

I don't think that you're right for complaining about the paralegal. If you thought that the charge was inappropriate or undeserved, then there may have been a case. What were you hoping for by hiring the paralegal? a miracle? Your cousin should have understood his error and poor judgement resulted in the charge and gone to explain and accept a plea bargain himself.

[T.O. Rider]

Your cousin got off lucky, the incompetent advice was telling her not to say anything to the police at the scene.
How would you like it if you were riding along and someone pulled a left in front of you. I'm sure you would be upset ...
Just because the first lane stopped to let her through does not mean she has the right of way.

[daveyflakes]

Well I suppose you can't really blame your "attorney". Your cousin will probably recoup the cost of hiring this guy from the amount he saved her in insurance premiums over the next couple of years.

With that said, from my experience, most of these ticket fighting "attorneys" are overpriced and overrated. From what I've seen, there seems to be a mutual understanding between them and the prosecuting "attorneys". They both win when they settle for a lesser fine/charge; the prosecutor gets his win, and the defendant gets what was promised for you (a lower fine/charge).

These "attorneys" do this everyday; the prosecutor and ticket fighters are practically coworkers. Their process is very streamlined and efficient: the defending "attorney" shows up with 4 or 5 cases he's representing, he states the name and such of the person he's representing, prosecutor states the charges, defendant moves to have the charges reduced, prosecutor agrees, case closed. Repeat for the 5 other cases he's got.

This whole process literally takes just a few minutes to go through the 4 or 5 cases. There is zero argument or questioning of witness or cops like one would expect. They make money by streamlining the process and increasing the volume of cases they go through, not by actually spending time and fighter for their clients.

Anyway, that's just my personal experience and what I've personally seen, so take it for what's it's worth. I'm sure there are exceptions out there...

Oh just a footnote. I keep saying "attorney" in quotes because I don't think either the prosecutor or your ticket fighter is an actual attorney.

[JZ67]

Oh Im not denying its her fault, Im saying she should had not been charged at all with anything and especially "careless driving"?? C'mon....

Pegassus, I hate to say this but you are not thinking objectively. You have already read all the facts above. Your cousin was charged accordingly. Fortunately for your cousin no one was seriously injured. Life lesson learned, move on.