Should I Plead Innocent?

S

SwagtasticWalrus

Active member
So I was stopped behind a girl in front of the school. My friend pointed out a large amount of police cars and it distracted me. I looked left and accidently let my foot off of the brake. I was in neutral and the road sits on a shallow hill. I rolled very slowly (2-3 mph) into the car in front of me. I got a $90 ticket for "following too closely." As the car in front of me was parked/stopped, I was not "fallowing" so to speak. Should I go to court on the 18th to fight the ticket?

Also, I am 15 and have had no tickets or accidents until now. As I am 15, I cannot afford this ticket and the rise in my insurance. I am paying for the very minimal damage done to the car I rolled into out of my pocket to avoid an insurance claim. If I get the ticket voided, I pay nothing. If I lose the court hearing, I pay the ticket+court fees. What should I do? Will it being Christmas time help my chances?
 
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It may sound a little stupid, but they did kind of cause a distraction. I mean, it is flashing lights. And when people see them they tend to look over/behind them. I'm not sure dude, I mean, I guess that since you're young they might take it like one of those "oh, he didn't know" situations.

I guess you could go for it. I mean, could it really make it worse?

Sorry if I don't sound too smart, I don't know too much about this whole thing, I'm just guessing lol.
 
So what you're saying is that you plan on pleading innocent to hitting the car, when you just admitted to doing it? And there's the fact that that you had your friend in the car at age 15, which I assume is illegal if you live in the US.

You're smart.
 
where can you drive when you're 15?

and going to court, in my experience, has never hurt. you're not going to say you're innocent, but going to court will either reduce the fine, get rid of it, or uphold it. if you have the time and resources to go, why not.

this is also why I think the driving age should be from at least 18 - 70. idiot
 
I've had to go to court 3 times and if something like that happened to me i would just pay it. They will beat you, you will not win.

Dont go to court and just pay the ticket, same thing as pleading guilty.
 
I would go to court, my buddy had multiple tickets for overloading. He was gonna lose his license, but the cop never showed up and the ticket was dropped. And even if he does show up if you explain the situation you'll prolly get a lower fine.
 
yes but an explanation is mitigation-- you check the "mitigate" box and they'll reduce the cost of the ticket. Contesting is straight up saying you didn't do it. If you lose you lose, if you win you win, but you must prove you didn't do it. OP can also defer it, but don't waste your deferral on something like this.
 
From my experience, 3 times, being in traffic court, the judge doesn't put up with bullshit. You are still responsible for distracted driving, even if the police caused the distraction. Just pay the ticket. Is traffic school an option?
 
Go to court, its such a small case that its more of a nuisance to the state than anything, they'll probably give you a break, if not drop the charge.
 
Thats pretty lucky, something big must have been going where they needed extra officers, because they get paid time and a half when they have to go to court hearings i believe.
 
Your states won't allow you to have someone else int the car when you are under 18? In my state you can have one friend. And to OP, I don't think trying to argue the ticket would do any good. I guess you could give it a try if you wanted, I have no idea what the court costs would be.
 
This. I had a speeding ticket in the middle of nowhere from a stater in eastern washington. I contested it and my hearing was set at 6:30am in Ritzville, the next closest town, which was still about 20 miles from where I got the ticket. It was in the middle of winter, and I left my house at about 2:30am to drive all the way out to ritzville in the snow, just hoping and banking the officer didn't live in Ritzville and wouldn't show up. He showed. It sucked.
 
go to court and take the chance that the officer doesnt show up. if he doesnt, it will get thrown out. if he does, ask for deferred prosecution so that you pay (a possibly slightly higher) fine, but if you go a year without any other violations, it gets dropped
 
i think so.

is there even anywhere that a 15 year old can get a license and drive with friends in the car?
 
I have a license. In Idaho you can get your license at 15. I'm dead serious about this situation. I just don't know if it will be worth the risk. Court fee is $80 if I lose. And yes, sorry. I mean pleading not guilty. I can legally drive with one non relative and only drive at day
 
She was stopped, so by definition I wasn't following. I came to a stop, then I started Rolling slowly. So I shouldn't have gotten that ticket for that reason. I just rolled. No throttle was applied.
 
You fucking drove into another car because you weren't paying attention. If anything, the cop let you off easy. Stop fucking complaining and pay your ticket.
 
I'm not complaining you twat. I don't care about the ticket as much as I do the insurance. I am already paying for a new bumper just to avoid my insurance going up. As I am 15 it will be that much more expensive. The ticket says I was fallowing too closely. Which is false by definition. He didn't see it happen, he doesn't know.
 
Everyone who has been hating on me for this thread, just go away if you don't like my question. You don't all have to be douche bags. I'm just asking for advice.
 
Real talk: go to court. If he shows pay the ticket, you have to admit its your fault. If he doesn't show you get off easy. But seriously, don't try to act like you did nothing wrong because it is 100% your fault.
 
go to court but dont dress like a shit head. dress somewhat nice and be respectfull. if they see some dissrespectful shithead walk in there gonna be harder on you.

 
Go. Be respectful. Youll end up paying a small fine, and get the ticket expunged in 6 months with a clean record.
 
It is my fault. Again, I didnt come here to complain, I came here for advice. I never denied that I screwed up. And I wasn't fallowing at all. So I'm innocent of the said crime I supposedly committed. And move on? Yeah cuz I can do that when my dad takes my car. I can't move on. It will change my entire life. I'll even have to switch highschools!
 
You're one of those kids who still thinks that fairness and justice in the world exists and is always upheld.
 
Go to court and tell the judge your non sequitur about how the cops made you rear-end somebody. The judge is going to love that.

/s
 
a) learn to spell

b) suck it up, pay the ticket

c) realize how easy you got off with a $90 ticket for fOllowing too closely. whether or not you realize it, the officer already gave you a lighter fine with the fOllowing too closely, take it to court and you absolutely will lose.
 
• come on, seriously spell following right

• did you make a mistake

• or did you make a mistake

oh and why would you let your foot off the brake because you see flashing lights
 
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