[teendriver]

Hi, I am a 16 year old driver and I recently was involved in an accident. I was driving down a sloped, curvy road (going just below the speed limit) when all of a sudden as I was rounding a curve I hit a patch of packed in snow and ice that sent my vehicle spinning out of control and into a fenceline on the other side of the road. Not even 2 minutes after my vehicle came to a stop, a snowplow finally swept over the icy patch and was able to scrape most of the ice up. About 15 minutes after that, our township police showed up. After checking my license and insurance and so-on, they issued me a citation for failure to control my vehicle. However, about 20 yards up the road from me, there was the scene of another wreck that had happened about an hour before that involved one of my classmates. The officer told me he would be sure to include that information in his report of my accident, but I would like to get an idea about what my punishment, if any, will be. Also, most of the road had been completely cleared of snow except for the dangerous blind curve I was unlucky to encounter. Is it not the township/ county's fault for not taking better care of our roads? And since there was also another wreck approximately an hour or two after mine, do I have a chance to avoid any kind of penalty? I would like to know what penalty I will be issued to me if anyone has any ideas. Also, should my parents and I hire a lawyer to fight for my innocence? My accident was a true and honest accident. The only way it could have been prevented is if the roads would have been properly taken care of, don't you think? Answers would be greatly appreciated.

[twinkiedooter]

You will probably get a fine to pay for your accident. And no, it is not the county's fault for your accident - it is your fault. As you get older you will understand that driving is a privilege and as a driver you have certain responsibilities. When driving in the winter on roadways that are questionable you drive slower, much slower than normal. Just because you were driving under the speed limit was great, but you were not driving slow enough.

You did lose control of the car. That is what matters in the eyes of the Judge. Hiring an attorney is a costly venture. Do you have that kind of money?

You need to call the Clerk of Court's office and ask them what the fine is for your ticket and then go pay it if you are allowed to pay it or appear in Court before a Judge if you must do that. Either way, you can't just avoid this ticket. Sorry.

[excon]

failure to control citaiton- am I really guilty?

Hello teen:

Let's see here. Did you fail to control your car?? You did?? Guilty! It ain't any more difficult than that.

excon

[Fr_Chuck]

Sad excuse for young people today,
You are gettting advice from very professional people, I will tell you form one that has investigated 100's of accidents and worked in traffic court for years.

You are guilty automatically, if youi lost control, the judge may dismiss the case for weather but does not have to

While the county can and should keep the road, if they do not, there is nothing you can do about it.

And to be honest if you are and act as such a jerk in court, you will be lucky not to get jail time if you try and act like some perry mason in a traffic court. I have seen kids like you come into court and to be honest they normally talk thierself into a lot more trouble than just being nice to the judge

[twinkiedooter]

Well, if your folks are that rich and obnoxious like you are and you DID say that some Judge and an attorney said you were not at fault for your accident and the county should have paid more attention and cleaned the highway off for Your Royal Highness, then by all means just have Daddykins pay off the Judge and skip on down the road. Don't worry, reality will come and bite your behind when you don't have Mommie and Daddie's money to bail you out of any further "problems" you will have down the road in life.

And we're not "holes" here either, sorry. You came here asking a question. We gave you answers. You didn't like our answers. You never stated that you were little Miss God's Gift to the World and knew some swell professional(?) people who had already advised you that you were not going to have to pay a ticket.

In the real world, honey, that does not happen. Real people have to pay failure to control tickets. It's only in makebelieve land that you live in that people don't have to pay failure to control tickets. Don't try this cute little trick in someone else's town or state as it won't work. Sorry.

Also if you knew that there was a blind curve up ahead you should have slowed down a lot before proceeding. You should be happy that you didn't plow into another car coming in the opposite direction.