So I turned left at a green traffic lite and - surprise! - found myself crashed into a Dodge P/U. Don't know how I could not have seen him coming but, having been on the other side of this situation twice in the past, I guess I just have to conclude "Sh#t Happens". The police were called and arrived quickly, tow trucks appeared, info was exchanged, etc., etc., - AND THE OFFICER ISSUED ME A TICKET. The reason was for failure to yield the right-of-way.

Two weeks later I was telling this story to the owner of the small used car lot where I was buying a grungy Ranger for parts to fix mine. He claimed that the officer had no business giving me a ticket. He contends that police can only issue tickets based on what they PERSONALLY WITNESS someone doing. I have had a few accidents - mostly not at-fault ones - but I cannot recall ever getting a ticket or seeing the other driver get one. This occurred in Philly, PA.

Is the car dealer correct or was the cop correct?

 

Used car dealer would lose that bet, lol.
He is wrong.

Police, for sure, do not have to witness a traffic incident to write a ticket for it, for a "rolling stop" or "speeding" then yes, can't take someones word for that.
But police are often not at the scene for many accidents, and if they are not there, there would be no ticket issued since drivers exchanged info and parted ways to let insurance companies decide fault.
If police do come on the scene then it is up to them to decide if a ticket should be written, and you can fight it same as any other ticket.
You or witness's probably admitted or saw that the other vehicle had the right of way and you were at fault, so you got a ticket.

Friend of mine, sober, lol, went off the road and into a ditch, he called me to pull him out, police came by while I was on my way and he got a ticket for "care and control", or not maintaining care and control.
And a sobriety test as well.

He should have said a dog or ?? ran out and he swerved, but he said he "was just driving and then in the ditch", so...............no care or control, lol.


Another more interesting story:
I friend got very drunk one night in a Bar and "tried" to drive home, used the back roads to avoid police, and ended up in a ditch, stuck, so much for trying, lol.
But he had the presents of mind to move over to the passenger seat and buckle himself in.
Police came by and got him out and asked what happened, he said he didn't know, he was too drunk to drive and paid "a guy" $50 to drive him home..............
No ticket, while police could have cited him for driving off the road and DWI they would have lost in court so................no ticket.
My friend wouldn't have to "prove" there was "a guy", he is innocent until proven guilty, to prove him guilty they would have to prove there was no "guy", a hard thing to do.

And to tie this all together, my friend in this story was.........wait for it.............................a used car dealer, lol, no lie true story

 

Ron is right... police can issue you a ticket for that.

Ron.... your friend is one smart cookie. lmao

 

My mom got in an identical accident several years ago and was issued the same ticket. The cop is correct, and I'd say you have a 0.00001% chance of winning if you try to fight it in court since it's pretty obvious you didn't yield to the traffic.

Ron, that story is awesome haha

 

yep. you have ZERO chance of winning because the result was an accident

 

Traffic officers issue citations, which are just complaints against a person saying they broke a law in their discretion. It is up to a judge to rule and issue the fine/penalty. That is why you ahve the right to argue your case and the complaining officer must be present. The general public assumes they will lose so they pay the fine to make it go away.The bad part is its your word versus his and since he is a police officer his word is more trusted since it it assumed you were wrong. An officer must witness the law being broken to have a complaint against you..by law. Good luck with that dispute.

 

Well I would agree with some of that but not all of it.
Judge does have final say, and you can dispute any fine/penalty.
And issuing officer does need to be present in court, if possible, judge can still rule against you without officer testifying but you can appeal decision if his testimony would be relevant.

While yes the officer is "part of the legal system", so tends to be a more trusted information source, logic is the main reason an officers statement(written or oral) is given more weight than the accused testimony.
Police officer has "no money in the pot", "no dog in the race", in other words "no reason to lie"
Accused does have a reason to lie.

Yes police do have ticket "quotas", but look around you while driving, I see 10 ticketable offenses before engine even warms up, lol.
They don't need to find "innocent people" to give tickets to, plenty of law breakers out there to go around.

The "quotas" are more for job performance than anything else, "did they spend the day at the donut shop or out on the streets", so time of ticket and number of tickets per shift, show they didn't.
Do police officers lie or make mistakes, they are people so of course, that is why there is a judge.

Is it a money grab, police force doesn't come cheap, so tickets are a tax to support the cost, paid for by those that are one of the reasons we need a police force, seems fair to me.

Some driving offenses do need evidence in the form of officer testimony, like speeding or not stopping at a stop sign.

Some do not, you can be ticketed for excessive speed from evidence at the scene, skid marks or contact with other vehicles or road barriers, no officer needs to witness the event.

And like the OP you can be ticketed for failing to yield right of way, after the event, without officer witnessing the incident.

 

Details about that day are kind of foggy. I recall the officer explaining that he "had to, unfortunately" issue me a ticket. It was my option whether to sign it in the space provided or not. I had 10 days to pay the $138.50 or face additional penalties (money, that is!) or I could ask for a court date. I felt I had no hope of convincing a judge that I was not guilty, so I paid it. It was not until AFTER paying I spoke to the car dealer who told me the ticket was wrong. So my purpose for starting this thread was for future reference. And to see if the car dealer was (a) right or (b) full of sh*t. Based on the responses, it looks like (b) wins! (Trusting a used car salesman? What was I thinking?!!!)

 

It could have been the other vehicles driver wanted right of way established for his insurance claim.
So attending officer had to look at the evidence of debris on road, skid marks and damage to vehicles and then talk to both drivers and any witness's.
And he issued you the failure to yield ticket from that.

I have heard of people admitting fault at the scene and then telling their insurance company that the other driver was at fault, and after the fact it becomes a "he said/she said" since you didn't bother to get any witness's names because they admitted fault.
And they magically come up with a witness that says it was your fault, lol.
So it isn't a bad idea if there is a police officer there to get him to do a police report at the scene, and that would usually require him to issue tickets for violations if they are established from evidence at the scene.

But even if you are at fault a report like that can protect you down the road, that car you hit with just the driver inside can't "magically" become a car with 4 passengers all with neck and back injuries, lol, suing you for 10 million dollars, 9 million over most coverages

 

you made a left hand turn at an intersection, and was involved in a crash.

failure to yield the right of way - your fault. My advice try to plead down to the DA. Otherwise your looking at points on your license.

my next peace of advice, if there were ANY injuries, retain a personal defense attorney NOW! Dont wait! And DO NOT rely on your insurance company to defend you.

and yet one final word: DO NOT under ANY circumstances talk to the other driver, unless YOUR attorney, is present, not your insurance companies attorneys, YOUR attorney.

there now that advice cost me almost $70,000 out of pocket. learn from my mistakes.