My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Arkansas
Hey Everyone!
I'll try to be as brief as possible with my concern:
It's 6 a.m. and still dark as I'm driving my pickup through farmland on a rural highway with limited traffic. I have three vehicles in front of me and we all seem to be driving the same speed, around 55. In front is an 18 wheeled tanker, next an unloaded log truck followed by a car, which is roughly 100 yards in front of me. Brake lights start to come on as the tank truck starts to slow and move toward the shoulder of the highway. We are approaching a slight curve with a distant hill with a double yellow line. The log truck passes the slowing tanker followed by the car. As I approach the tanker I'm totally convinced that he has some difficulty and is about to stop on the shoulder. I lift off my accelerator watching the cab for an exiting driver and, with no oncoming traffic headlights, move across the double yellow line as to give safe room for truck driver. Not completely, maybe half-way at the most because the truck is almost completely on the shoulder by now. Tank truck starts a full left turn from the shoulder into an unmarked driveway! I have nowhere to go but where the truck is not and I lock the brakes, sliding into the fifth wheel of the truck, just hard enough to total my Toyota Tacoma without injury to me. We end up on the opposite shoulder of the road. The other vehicles have moved on and there are no witnesses. Truck driver gets out apologizing for not seeing me, saying he had never been down this highway before and was looking for the turn (he was from out of state).
The skidmarks from my lifesaving slide were completely in the other lane which would make one think that I was there to begin with, when I was not!
State Trooper takes our report some half hour later. The truck driver claims he had his signal on and was turning from his lane! I tell State Trooper my story and I get an improper passing citation. The Trooper took the truck driver's word as the truth.
Do I have a case? I've never have been ticketed in this state in the 35 years I have been driving here.
Something that may help me. When we began to move the 18 wheeler backwards to get off my truck we had to stop him immediately because his trailer was backing straight toward the Trooper's car, which was located on the opposite shoulder, where I said the truck came from in the first place. Secondly I struck the truck on the back tractor tires at the fifth wheel. Some truck driving friends of mine said had he turned from his lane I could have never struck the fifth wheel because the angle would have been too sharp, thus causing me to hit the trailer before I coud ever get to the tractor's fifth wheel. Also there are no street lights and no signs in place showing an intersection.
I've been reduced to a part-time job in this slow economy and cannot afford an attorney at this time, especially with two kids in college! I'm fighting it myself. Any help at all would be very much appreciated. Again, so sorry for the long post but I had to give enough facts for you to work with.
Thanks, beltcutter

