Ticketed for Tailgating - What Are My Options

My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: CA
Hi everyone,
I recently got a ticket for tailgating (following too closely). Given the circumstance, I am not sure if I should take traffic school or whether I still have a chance.

I was driving on a highway (Santa Clara county), which has two lanes. There is a car on each lane (and no other cars at all - Dec 26, so not many people are driving). Both cars were driving below speed limit, so I approached one on the left lane thinking they would either speed up or change lane and let me pass (which happens quite frequently). That did not happen, and a few minutes after that I got pulled over by CHP for tailgating. It was dark, but I am quite sure the officer was driving when he saw me, since there was no place for him to stay and hide.
The officer stated that I was driving 70mph (speed limit 65mph), and that I was too close to the next car for that speed. However, he did not write down my speed or the distance between me and the next car on the ticket. The road was somewhat dry (it rained in the morning, but dried out since that), it was past sunset but no fog, so visibility was quite good.

My guess, the ticket (with traffic school and everything) will be about $300, which is not the end of the world, but not something I would like to give away either.

So my question - what is your opinion: is it worth going through TBWD with the risk of losing the ability for traffic school or is it pretty much hopeless and I should just pay the fine?

Thanks!

What code section was cited on the ticket?

How far behind the other vehicle were you for these "few minutes?" If you say something less than 60' or so, then you were probably too close. And to remain that close for "a few minutes" is no ta good idea.

If you seek a copy of the officer's notes through discovery, you may get an indication of the officer's speed and distance if he makes any note of them on the citation or other report.

If you contest the citation through a trial by written declaration and/or a court trial, the option of traffic school may not be available if you lose. If you are otherwise eligible, it will almost certainly be available to you before you contest the violation. So, you may have to ask yourself whether the certainty of avoiding the point (and subsequent insurance hit) for a moving violation is more important than the small chance that the officer might not respond to a TBWD or show for court.

The ticket is for violation of CVC 21703. 60 feet seems huge - it is 4 times longer than my car. I don't think I was that far. On the other hand, I am not sure how clearly the officer could see the distance between me and the next car.
Is there a good step-by-step instructions on how to perform a discovery? I have never done that before. I don't have any notes on speed or distance on my ticket, not sure if the officer put anything in his report.
I am not hoping that the officer will not show up/respond. Rather, I am trying to evaluate my chances to actually win the case.

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Quoting Metil

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The ticket is for violation of CVC 21703. 60 feet seems huge - it is 4 times longer than my car. I don't think I was that far.

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that was WAY too close. You should have been somewhere around 200 feet at 70 mph (2 seconds behind the car in front of you). On the best of days that is going to be considered to be too close.

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Quoting Metil

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The ticket is for violation of CVC 21703. 60 feet seems huge - it is 4 times longer than my car.

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While not usually the standard people are held to, that is what is recommended to allow for reasonable stopping time.

How far back WERE you for those few minutes?

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I am not sure how clearly the officer could see the distance between me and the next car.

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A reasonable question to ask him if you take it to trial. But, understand that it really is not that difficult to tell if you are looking and know what to look for.

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Is there a good step-by-step instructions on how to perform a discovery? I have never done that before. I don't have any notes on speed or distance on my ticket, not sure if the officer put anything in his report.

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There are numerous self-help cites on the internet that provide some of that information, and a couple of posters here that might tell you how to go about it.

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I am not hoping that the officer will not show up/respond. Rather, I am trying to evaluate my chances to actually win the case.

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Maybe the notes will give you some indication ... maybe not. But, you might want to ask yourself just how far behind the other car you were, and for how long? Unless the officer admits to not being able to see, you have to consider the possibility that he DID see you traveling for a few miles on the bumper of the car in front of you. In such a case, you will likely lose.

Though, consider again that if you take the issue to trial and lose, traffic school may not be an option.

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Quoting jk

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that was WAY too close. You should have been somewhere around 200 feet at 70 mph (2 seconds behind the car in front of you). On the best of days that is going to be considered to be too close.

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Realistically, for enforcement, the recommendation tends to be about one car length per 10 MPH ... for simplicity, many of us simply estimate about 1 foot per MPH. There is no hard and fast rule, but what would truly be required to react or stop at 70 MPH would be impossible to enforce.

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Quoting cdwjava

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Realistically, for enforcement, the recommendation tends to be about one car length per 10 MPH ... for simplicity, many of us simply estimate about 1 foot per MPH. There is no hard and fast rule, but what would truly be required to react or stop at 70 MPH would be impossible to enforce.

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I realize it is an arbitrary number. Many states teach that 2 seconds is a good rule to follow (and it actually is a very comfortable distance to allow) but even using 1 car length for each 10 mph, you still come up with about 112 feet (average car is ~16 feet X 7). Still almost double what the OP was allowing.

One problem with teaching a two second rule is that it is not easy to estimate for most driver. Visually estimating distance either as car lengths or increments of 10' is easier to do at a glance and requires fewer distractions. Estimating two seconds requires identifying an definitive location and estimating the time it takes to reach thereby adding an additional task to the driver.

I grew up with the one car length rule and tend to use that. But, as it varies by car (I live in an area where full size pickups are the norm) I usually settle for ten feet per ten MPH for simplicity sake ... it seems easier for many people to calculate and visualize.

fair enough. I prefer the 2 second rule but it is what it is.

maybe because at 70 mph the 2 second rule puts me ~200 feet (and 2 seconds) behind another car while the one car length rule puts the driver 70 feet and ~3/4 of a second behind the driver in front of you. I enjoy that additional space so I don't have to be all tensed up waiting for something to happen. 3/4 of a second is not a lot of time to react, especially since it takes about 1/2 second just to get your foot to move after noticing a need to do something.

Personally, I fall back a good distance - probably closer to your two second rule ... usually so far that people keep cutting in front of me and forcing me to drop back even further. My wife hates this, but the collision investigator in me understands that if that car in front of slams on the brakes or hits something, even a fraction of a second can mean the difference between life and death. I would never cite for a failure to follow that rule, but I get uncomfortable when people follow others too close for adequate response times.

For some reason, I have hard time estimating the distance from my car to anywhere in any direction even though I am driving the same car for 5 years and never had problems parking. What I tried to do yesterday was to park behind another car at a distance that "looks" like the one I had when the CHP allegedly saw me and then measure the distance with the ruler. I got something like 6ft, which makes me think my method is flawed. And this will not be something I would bring up in my TBWD or in court.
As far as the duration of me following the other car goes, I don't think it was more than 30 sec. In essence, I caught up with the car in front of me, then realized that they are not going to change lane to let me pass. By that time, I was approaching my junction, so I had to fall back and change lanes.