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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2012
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    2

    Default Ran into a Ditch Due to Road Conditions in a Rental Car, Ticketed

    My question involves a traffic accident in the State of: North Carolina
    It was raining so hard that at 20 MPH you could only see 10ft. I was taking a 90* left turn onto a rural road. Directly on the right side of the road is a 6ft deep ditch. As I was turning I did not see that my right front tire had begun to travel off the road and the rain had caused the dirt to act like wet sand at a beach and pulled me in and down into the ditch. ( I surveyed the tracks my car left to determine this. Because I know I was halfway full lock the entire time :S )I was travelling approximately 5-10mph at the time of my impact into a tree in the ditch.
    I did not call the law because no one else was involved and no city or private property was damaged. Air bags did not deploy and the bumper was still intact. Although when I was towed out of the ditch the right mirror got ripped off by a tree. Well an officer showed up out of the blue and gave me a ticket(he was not present during the accident) (failure to maintain lane control) stating that I had gone too fast and lecturing to me about how he has to block two lanes of traffic of people trying to get home, just for me.

    Thats all well and dandy, but I don't think I deserved the infraction and fine, having to pay out of pocket for the repairs to avoid insurance hikes is already a lesson enough for me. What can I do?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    38,867

    Default Re: Ran into a Ditch Due to Road Conditions in a Rental Car, Ticketed

    why don't you think you deserve the ticket? If you could only see 10 feet, you really shouldn't have been driving at all. It is apparent you were negligent in your driving.

    The ticket has nothing to do with the damages on the car or whether you are paying for them out of pocket or through insurance.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Posts
    2

    Default Re: Ran into a Ditch Due to Road Conditions in a Rental Car, Ticketed

    Quote Quoting jk
    View Post
    why don't you think you deserve the ticket? If you could only see 10 feet, you really shouldn't have been driving at all. It is apparent you were negligent in your driving.

    The ticket has nothing to do with the damages on the car or whether you are paying for them out of pocket or through insurance.
    Then why was the cop driving, along with all the other people going home from work. I suppose I, the police and the other drivers should have stayed at their work overnight then. I asked for help, not to be attacked, I know I am at fault, I learned my lesson when I hit the tree in the ditch, I think that if there were others involved that I would be more deserving of this punishment, this officer was just looking to throw his weight around, he was not nice like 99% of the other officers in my city he needs to transfer to NCHP.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Tacoma, WA
    Posts
    1,534

    Default Re: Ran into a Ditch Due to Road Conditions in a Rental Car, Ticketed

    Well, since neither the cop nor the other drivers lost control of their vehicles, went off the road, and hit a tree, apparently there was more involved in your accident than just the weather conditions! Let's see...what other factors might have been involved...hummmmmm....OH WAIT! I GOT IT! Maybe the difference between you and the cop and the other drivers was YOUR DRIVING BEHAVIOR!!!

    You failed to properly maintain control of your vehicle with full consideration of roadway, weather, and traffic conditions (as required by law) and you got (properly) cited for it. The fact that you did not collide with another vehicle, pedestrian, or property was pure luck. So, the cop is just being a jerk to cite you just because you were lucky enough not to have injured or killed someone else with your obvious violation???? I think not. It seems to me that there WAS a jerk involved in this incident, but it WASN'T the cop.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    38,867

    Default Re: Ran into a Ditch Due to Road Conditions in a Rental Car, Ticketed

    Quote Quoting klingon
    View Post
    Then why was the cop driving, along with all the other people going home from work. I suppose I, the police and the other drivers should have stayed at their work overnight then. I asked for help, not to be attacked, I know I am at fault, I learned my lesson when I hit the tree in the ditch, I think that if there were others involved that I would be more deserving of this punishment, this officer was just looking to throw his weight around, he was not nice like 99% of the other officers in my city he needs to transfer to NCHP.
    actually they all could likely have been cited for driving in the condition but since none of them were involved in an accident, the cop figured it wasn't fair. He probably only cites people that prove they shouldn't have been driving in the situation.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    OH10
    Posts
    17,019

    Default Re: Ran into a Ditch Due to Road Conditions in a Rental Car, Ticketed

    I find very frequently in heavy rain or snow where other drivers need to pull off or are obstructing my path of travel. The fact that I have better driving skills, does not negate the fact that they don't drive as well as I and should likely pull over also. Proof of this, is when they drive off the road.

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