In an Accident, Cited for Unsafe Tires

[idkLaw]

Backstory:
On a very snowy day I happened to total my car on a curb in Michigan. The curb was part of a median in the middle of an entrance driveway to a convenience store that had NO structures on it and was completely covered in snow (and the accident happened at night). The officer that filed the report on the incident gave me a ticket for 257.627(1) "Driving without due care & caution-accident" which I'm going to court for on 3/8 (5 days).

The officer said I was entering the convenience store too fast, otherwise if I had hit the curb my tire wouldn't have popped (which caused the cascading damage to the rest of the car). If he appears in court and says this and the judge agrees I was planning on stating that the belts on my tires were worn which is why it popped, not because I was going too fast. I have a receipt of an estimate from 10 days beforehand from an auto shop that suggests my tires need to be replaced. The guy at the shop said that if I use the worn tires in my defense I may get a different ticket instead for driving on bad tires.

Situation:
I've found the clause for bad tires here 257.710(f) but I can't find what the penalty is for breaking this law. I've looked around in the legislature and searched on Google but haven't found anything. Is there any penalty for this subsection or is it just a law where non-repeat offenders are given a warning? I'm a complete novice to researching law and would appreciate any help I can get. Thanks!

[jk]

I was planning on stating that the belts on my tires were worn which is why it popped,

that just adds a charge of failing to maintain your vehicle on top of the driving without due care and caution. Ya see, especially since you knew the tires were worn out, you are required to drive even more carefully to avoid an accident. You didn't.

but that is not why your tires popped anyway. They popped because either it was cut when the tire compressed and the area pinched between the rim and the curb or hitting the curb broke the seal at the rim causing it to deflate instantly. Looking at the tire for a cut will tell you which it was. Having little to no tread does not appreciably alter the possibility of cutting the tire. It simply means you do not have as much traction.

according to this chart: http://courts.michigan.gov/scao/resources/other/fc_ci.pdf

a violation for bad tires is between $93 and $111.

[idkLaw]

according to this chart: http://courts.michigan.gov/scao/resources/other/fc_ci.pdf

a violation for bad tires is between $93 and $111.

Hm okay that kind of sucks. I'm curious where in the legislature that it states that 257.710(f) is a civil infraction though. I see it's noted as a civil infraction according to the pdf, but in 257.710 it isn't defined as a civil infraction, nor in 257.907 where it specifically details the fines for specific civil infractions. There's also nothing in local law that defines civil infractions with regard to driving.

I'd like to find out where 257.710(f) is defined as a civil infraction before I just drop the whole bad tires route. Thanks for your help!

[jk]

Hm okay that kind of sucks. I'm curious where in the legislature that it states that 257.710(f) is a civil infraction though. I see it's noted as a civil infraction according to the pdf, but in 257.710 it isn't defined as a civil infraction, nor in 257.907 where it specifically details the fines for specific civil infractions. There's also nothing in local law that defines civil infractions with regard to driving.

I'd like to find out where 257.710(f) is defined as a civil infraction before I just drop the whole bad tires route. Thanks for your help!

really?


ok but only because I am such a nice guy.

but just so you know, you were really close:

http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(ptd4gvbywuynqrenjaliqu45))/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=mcl-257-683

(6) Except as otherwise provided in section 698 or 707d, a person who violates a provision of sections 683 to 711 with respect to equipment on vehicles is responsible for a civil infraction.

that is a section of a section in the overall chapter you were in:

http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(ptd...9-VI-EQUIPMENT

then to find the chart, I had to Google my brains out and review a bunch of sites that led nowhere until I found the one I linked.

[idkLaw]

I'd just checked the end of that 257.683-714a covered and you beat me to checking the beginning. :P
Anyway, thanks for your help. I guess I'm no better off if I say that my tires were faulty in my defense. If push comes to shove and it is insisted that my tire only popped because I was driving too fast would, it be reasonable for me to suggest that it might have been because my tires were old and needed replacement (without admitting that they were or that I planned to)?

Otherwise, what would you recommend as a defense? I'm banking on the officer not showing or the judge being lenient with regard to the conditions of the road such as the snow covering and making invisible the median I hit.