Need Some Help.... Ticket..

[DK_MaluNYMets]

I was involved in a minor accident the other day... in NJ

 

I touched the back of a BMW x5.. and the lady called the cops... anywayz..

 

 

I offered to pay out of pocket they still havent called me up...

 

But i received a traffic ticket for careless driving from the NJ police..

 

Its 85 dollars... i cant pay it off until i go to court on Dec 06....

 

Anyway to get out of it if possible... or im just scared.. is there anyway they can turn it into Reckless driving if i plead guilty and put me in jail?..... im just really worried about it... any help would be great...

 

Or is it if i plead guilty i will be fine.. they want me to go into court cuz it was part of an accident so yeah...

 

Thanks guys.. UF Members have been great to me and my family!

[[OHM] COL.GRINDER]

If she says shes OK and the cop determined it was careless driving its realy no big deal.

 

They cant redetermine its wreckless unless you were speeding and they can prove it.

 

Your gonna be fine just relax thiese things happen all the time there not going to lock you up.

[[PHS] Pai_Mei]

They can't bump the charge "up" to a more serious charge once you are given it, unless they get new evidence to show you were reckless.

 

Also, if you plead not guilty, and talk to the officer prior to your hearing he has the ability to drop it to a lower charge before you see the Magistrate.

 

Or you can fight it completely, and this makes the officer, as well as the lady, prove that you were in fact driving Carelessly. This is a very tough thing to prove. Especially if there is no visible damage above a scratch and small dent. To be driving carelessly would mean that she was stopped, or quite a distance ahead of you and slowing, then you rammed her leaving a nice dent in her pretty car.

 

The offer to pay cash and not go through your insurance company was a mistake though. It lends an heir of guilt.

 

Best thing you can do is look up exactly what determines careless driving in your state, and then decide if they can prove that you were in fact in violation of the law as it is WRITTEN.

[TOW-19]

Careless driving?

 

Did you hit her at 10 mph or 100 mph?

 

Is it a ding or an all-out crunch fest? Was anyone hurt, even in the least?

[xREVERENDx]

You recieved an $85.00 ticket and have to appear in court on top of that??!!!.....Man, i'd move out of NJ.

[lX-OSCEOLA-Xl]

Yeah I don't think you can go to jail for reckless driving unless you kill someone or something like that. How bad was the damage?

[DK_MaluNYMets]

lol like 5 mph.. it was at a light.. a bump dude... just a little touch... and she flipped.. stupid rich people

[[PHS] Pai_Mei]

Then I would plead not guilty, make the state waste their money. That would not stick for careless driving, at least not in Pa., and we are a Commonwealth state.

[Guest [+30]PuddyTat]

ARAS_BOURNE ]

Then I would plead not guilty, make the state waste their money. That would not stick for careless driving, at least not in Pa., and we are a Commonwealth state.

 

i agre, plead not guilty, AND request a trial by jury. make em drag 12 peeps in to here about a fender bender ;D

[[PHS] Pai_Mei]

On a summary offense, or driving violation, the charges will be dealt with at the magistrate level. No jury, just you, the old hag, and the cop stating your cases to the District Justice. My guess is that he or she will look at this, then check the vehicle damage, if it was documented, and laugh it out of the room. If it wasn't documented by photo's at the time of the accident, then there is even less for the Plaintiff to stand on.

[[PHS] Pai_Mei]

Lets put it this way... If the officer who wrote you up states something wrong, or doesn't word it right...you are off the hook. In the last two years i have beat three Speeding tickets...

 

One because the Officer didn't properly explain how he tested his radar for accuracy...

 

The second because he said he was going to give me a warning, then ticketed me anyway, after accidentally dropping the warning slip in my car. Man was the magistrate pissed about that one too, because i asked the officer 3 times while he was on the stand if he ever said he was going to give me a warning, then provided the warning slip for evidence to the judge...It was signed by the officer...lol.

 

And the third because he f'd up the time of the incident on the ticket. He said i was ticketed at 14:20, or 2:20 and i was able to prove, beyond a doubt that I was sitting at my desk working at that moment in time. He pulled me over at 3:20, 15:20.

[DK_MaluNYMets]

Wats the worse that can happen if i plead not guilty go there... and lose?... nothing more then just the fine right?

[Guest Skipper]

Dude, if there was any possiblity of you facing jail time you would've met before a court magistrate or commisioner and have your charges read before you and had to sign off on them. My brother is a lawyer, I just ran this by him. You would've been arrested and been required to post bail or faced a summons to appear, in which you would've have to report to the district court commissioner once you received the summons.

 

You are facing a moving violation by the state. Nothing more than a simple traffic ticket.

 

You also face the possibility of restition by the victim, but that will be handled by your insurance company.

[[PHS] Pai_Mei]

MaluNYMets ]

Wats the worse that can happen if i plead not guilty go there... and lose?... nothing more then just the fine right?

 

you'll need to pay the fine as well as court costs...usually an extra 35-50 bucks.

[Chili327]

MaluNYMets ]

Wats the worse that can happen if i plead not guilty go there... and lose?... nothing more then just the fine right?

I would think that is correct.. they wont add anything to it.. they might even reduce it.

 

 

wtf is "magistrate" ??? (an east coast thing?)

[[PHS] Pai_Mei]

Chili-Palmer ]

MaluNYMets ]

Wats the worse that can happen if i plead not guilty go there... and lose?... nothing more then just the fine right?

I would think that is correct.. they wont add anything to it.. they might even reduce it.

 

 

wtf is "magistrate" ??? (an east coast thing?)

 

They will add the court costs if you lose...Thats standard.

 

And a magistrate is the same thing as a District Justice. They are called Magisterial Districts. So a Magistrate is essentially the judge in the lower courts. It's the first stop in all legal proceedings. The primary job at these courts is to filter out the cases so as not to overwhelm the big courts that hold trials and such.

[DK_MaluNYMets]

The only reason i cant pay it off online.. is the fact that it was part of an accident... so will the accident have any effect?.. or its one of those just a court thing.. their just being stupid about it since it was part of an accident?

[DK_MaluNYMets]

The crazy thing is... for those couple of days i found out I didnt have insurance.. but i just got it again... apparently they received my payment late.. man i have never ever gotten into an accident before this.. or NEVER EVER not had coverage.. and the couple of days i didnt i get screwed over like this.. this is crazy!.... I offered to pay out of pocket cuz its my fault and i didnt want to go through the insurance... ahh its really nerve wrecking since i take care of a whole house hold.... not that u guys dont kno wat im goin through.. but added stress like this.. and being scared of losing my license or gettin sued... is crazy.. its a little bump on their bumper thats it... Im from NY not NJ.. so they def cant do anything more then the careless driving right?

[Guest Skipper]

MaluNYMets ]

The crazy thing is... for those couple of days i found out I didnt have insurance.. but i just got it again... apparently they received my payment late.. man i have never ever gotten into an accident before this.. or NEVER EVER not had coverage.. and the couple of days i didnt i get screwed over like this.. this is crazy!.... I offered to pay out of pocket cuz its my fault and i didnt want to go through the insurance... ahh its really nerve wrecking since i take care of a whole house hold.... not that u guys dont kno wat im goin through.. but added stress like this.. and being scared of losing my license or gettin sued... is crazy.. its a little bump on their bumper thats it... Im from NY not NJ.. so they def cant do anything more then the careless driving right?

 

You are sweating this way too much. Don't worry about it.

[Deutscher75]

MaluNYMets ]

The crazy thing is... for those couple of days i found out I didnt have insurance.. but i just got it again... apparently they received my payment late.. man i have never ever gotten into an accident before this.. or NEVER EVER not had coverage.. and the couple of days i didnt i get screwed over like this.. this is crazy!.... I offered to pay out of pocket cuz its my fault and i didnt want to go through the insurance... ahh its really nerve wrecking since i take care of a whole house hold.... not that u guys dont kno wat im goin through.. but added stress like this.. and being scared of losing my license or gettin sued... is crazy.. its a little bump on their bumper thats it... Im from NY not NJ.. so they def cant do anything more then the careless driving right?

 

dude...sit down. take a deep breath. stfu. and chill! lol

 

She has no grounds to sue you on, especially if you just bumped her car. She would have to provide 1 of 2 thing's in order to sue you according to my lawyer friend Jonathan.

 

1) Records from the hospital stating that she received major bodily damage in the accident

 

or

 

2) Records from a dealer or authorized mechanic/body shop company stating the the damage to the vehicle was more than cosmetic

 

from the sounds of it she won't have either, and if she tries to play the "I got seriously injured" thing, then request that the court have her undergo a full physical (x-rays and all) to determine if any true major or minor bodily damage occurred from the accident.

 

And if she tries the same for the vehicle without actual records, request the same thing, but from a dealer of your choice not the courts or hers, cause you'll get fucked by a court appointed dealer inspection!

 

The charges here are minimal and without warrant, you should have nothing to worry about other than paying at most a small fine of nothing over $250 + the ticket + court costs, unless you can beat the charge then you only pay the court costs.

 

My buddy Jonathan practiced law in Jersey for 12 years up until last year, so I'm pretty confident in what he has to say.

 

Trust everyone here, most of the guys have experience in law, law enforcement, or other civic duty related to this type of thing. No reason to be stressed unless you're on crack or something and they demand a drug test...then you truly are fucked, but I feel pretty confident that isn't the case man.

 

Just take a breather, let it go and don't worry, you worrying is causing more stress than this whole issue is actually worth stressing over.

 

If you want to talk to my buddy directly I can try and hook you up with him, but he's a busy prosecutor here in Ohio now, so he might not be available but it doesn't hurt to try. Just PM me if you want.

 

D

[DK_MaluNYMets]

Guys I can not express words to what you guys mean to me.... I always know I can count on you for everything.... You really made me come back down to earth.. I was so worried for a second.. thanks for the thoughts and prayers and help!