Improper Lane Change or Straddling Lane with Non-Injury Accident

[TnWilliams]

My question involves a traffic accident in the State of: Tennessee. I was driving in heavy 3-lane traffic going East in downtown Memphis in the middle lane, when a van directly next to me in the left lane accelerated and suddenly swerved into my lane. I was forced to brake and move slightly into the right lane to avoid being hit while the van continued to move into the space I was in. This resulted in my decelerating vehicle scraping the driver and passenger doors of the vehicle in the lane to the right of me, which subsequently began to slow down. The van which was now momentarily in front of me in the middle lane ignored my honking, swerved from the middle lane into the rightmost lane and swerved back into the middle lane after passing the vehicle which had been in front of me all along. I could not observe the van’s license plate because it was swerving in and out of lanes and by the time I had pulled over to the right side of the road it was too far away. There were no injuries. When the police arrived I explained what had happened and was cited for unlawfully committing the violation of the section entitled “improper lane change or straddling lane 21-99-1.” If I had stayed in my lane I would definitely have been side-swiped by the van and likely would have been pushed into the vehicle to the right of me as well. Do I have a valid case to contest this? I have no witnesses. The driver and passenger of the vehicle I scraped did not see what had happend.

[Mr. Knowitall]

Apparently the police did not believe that the other car caused the accident or felt that even if a person did swerve into your lane the accident was avoidable. Unfortunately we have no opportunity to review any police report or to ask them why they issued you the ticket.

You can contest the ticket and try to convince the court that the accident was caused by the third vehicle (this type of vehicle is sometimes referred to as a "phantom vehicle"; yes, that label suggests some skepticism.)