Q: Was below speed limit, hit ice and skid into a car at a light. No injury/witness, cop issued 169.14.1 ticket. Fight it?
The cops arrived after the other cars mother (who wasn't there nor involved in the accident) called them. We were driving slow since it had snowed earlier, then we hit ice and slowly slid into a car stopped at a stoplight. Tried honking to warn them but they panicked and didn't move. The cops issued us a ticket for failure to drive with due care, but statute 169.14.1 seems to be for driving over the speed limit. Since nobody witnessed the crash, I believe it is the cops opinion and I believe it was just an accident, no ticket necessary. Worth fighting in court?
A: You can try it. The point is you weren't able to stop, so some judges will take the position you should not have been driving at all if you couldn't stop. Now, if you had been able to stop all the way there and then suddenly there was a part you couldn't seem to stop on, a judge may say that you had been careful, you had used due care, but there was a place that was especially slippery.
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