Crashed car - help

[timosyy]

It was thunderstorming & late at night (10pm)-- I merged onto the far right lane (was about to exit), hydroplaned, spun out, spun across all 4 lanes of traffic, slammed passenger side against the center guardrail, and must've spun some more because i was facing the right way again when I stopped.

Car is totaled, I'm fine (my knee and neck are bothering me now though, i think it was just adrenaline talking when i waved the ambulance guy off), but the cop wrote me up/charged me with "failure to maintain control of the vehicle" and i have to appear in court.

So my question is, what kind of charge is this? How do you plead guilty/not-guilty to that? Can I plead no contest or something? Basically, I have no idea what this charge means, am pretty confused (i've never gotten so much as a ticket before), and am wondering what comes next.

 

[minendo]

It's basically for your insurance company's information.

 

[olds]

It means you were driving too fast for conditions.

 

[olds]

BTW, your title makes it sound like you accept no responsibility for your actions.

 

[timosyy]

Fixed it for you, didn't even occur to me. Thanks for the answer, now what?

 

[KLin]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
BTW, your title makes it sound like you accept no responsibility for your actions.

Come on the car crashed itself. The OP just happened to be behind the wheel.

 

[KLin]

Originally posted by: timosyy
Fixed it for you, didn't even occur to me. Thanks for the answer, now what?

Talk to a lawyer?

 

[timosyy]

No, there was a cop behind me, and he explained that I was going too fast for conditions and that was what the ticket meant. I was going over the speed limit.

My question is -- what is the process now. If there was a cop behind me I'm not going to argue it, and I have no problem being honest. So.. what. Do I just show up in court, plead guilty, and see what happens? Can I settle this outside of court? Plead no-contest, pay whatever fines?

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: timosyy
Fixed it for you, didn't even occur to me. Thanks for the answer, now what?

My opinion is you take your lumps like a man. You were behind the wheel and you were responsible.
OT will tell you to deny everything, plead not guilty and lie.

 

[olds]

Plead guilty and ask for traffic school.

 

[timosyy]

Also any ballpark figures for how much this is going to cost? It's funny how fast you go from "holy crap I coud've died" to "holy crap I can't afford this". Car is completely totaled.

Edit: Also is there some sort of court dress code ... I don't own a suit and I'm not about to go spend more money.

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: timosyy
No, there was a cop behind me, and he explained that I was going too fast for conditions and that was what the ticket meant. I was going over the speed limit.

My question is -- what is the process now. If there was a cop behind me I'm not going to argue it, and I have no problem being honest. So.. what. Do I just show up in court, plead guilty, and see what happens? Can I settle this outside of court? Plead no-contest, pay whatever fines?

Plead guilty with an explanation. Think of a reasonable explanation that doesn't make you sound like a douche, and see what happens. Since your records clean, you'll probably get probation, but court cost and fines will equal the face value of the ticket. The benefit to you is your insurance won't go up quite so much without the points.

You may get lucky and your cop won't show up. That's your get out of jail card. You get to walk out with no cost to you. It took me 20 years of driving and tickets before I was so lucky, and then it happened twice in a year :^D

 

[timosyy]

I have no idea what would make me sound like a douche, and the explanation is a simple one. I was speeding, it was raining, I hydroplaned/lost control and spun out, and crashed.

I don't have a problem taking responsibility, I just want to know the repercussions. What does probation entail? Can't drive car for x days?

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: timosyy
I have no idea what would make me sound like a douche, and the explanation is a simple one. I was speeding, it was raining, I hydroplaned/lost control and spun out, and crashed.

I don't have a problem taking responsibility, I just want to know the repercussions. What does probation entail? Can't drive car for x days?

With probation your points are waived, but if you get another ticket before the probationary period's over, you'll likely get the points for this offense, as well as the new one.

Don't admit to speeding in court. You were ticketed for failing to control your vehicle, admit to nothing else. If the cop brings it, you just say "I don't know", and let it go at that. You can also try pleading poverty to beat the points. If you're short on money, tell the judge. That may make him more inclined to give you probation. Most important is to be respectful of the cop, and the judge. I've seen some real asshats in court.

 

[timosyy]

It's funny because people complain about their parents or w/e only caring about money after they get in an accident, but that's how i feel right now. My knee is banged up and my neck is a bit sore but the one thing that keeps repeating in my mind is "i can't afford this i can't afford this i can't afford this". We're not like ridiculously poorly off, but putting me + siblings in college will put a dent in anyone's bank account, and I'm pretty sure my family is a little bit in debt atm.

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: timosyy
It's funny because people complain about their parents or w/e only caring about money after they get in an accident, but that's how i feel right now. My knee is banged up and my neck is a bit sore but the one thing that keeps repeating in my mind is "i can't afford this i can't afford this i can't afford this". We're not like ridiculously poorly off, but putting me + siblings in college will put a dent in anyone's bank account, and I'm pretty sure my family is a little bit in debt atm.

That's natural. You're ok, so you dwell on the things that aren't ok(money). You should make out alright. Insurance will cover the car, and your rates will go up in the near term, but over the long haul it isn't a big deal. Just consider it a learning experience, and strive to do better.

 

[tasmanian]

Dont plead guilty. If you plead not guilty the worst the judge can do is find you guilty, if he disagrees with the cop then you get off the ticket. Just tell the judge that you were traveling along at normal speeds. Also that you have driven the road many times while it was raining and had no issues. Lying about small details, such as you were speeding is fine, and you should do it. Wear nice clothes, a suit of you have it, if not dress clothes.

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: tasmanian
Dont plead guilty. If you plead not guilty the worst the judge can do is find you guilty, if he disagrees with the cop then you get off the ticket. Just tell the judge that you were traveling along at normal speeds. Also that you have driven the road many times while it was raining and had no issues. Lying about small details, such as you were speeding is fine, and you should do it. Wear nice clothes, a suit of you have it, if not dress clothes.

In MD if you wish to plead not guilty your case gets moved to the end of the docket, while the guilty/explanation people go first. It tends to piss the judge/cop off because you're wasting their time frivolously if you really are guilty.

 

[seemingly random]

Originally posted by: timosyy
I have no idea what would make me sound like a douche, and the explanation is a simple one. I was speeding, it was raining, I hydroplaned/lost control and spun out, and crashed.

I don't have a problem taking responsibility, I just want to know the repercussions. What does probation entail? Can't drive car for x days?

If you speak in court, don't admit to a crime that you have not been charged with.

Is the nolo contendere plea still available?

Just be honest and humble.

 

[tasmanian]

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: tasmanian
Dont plead guilty. If you plead not guilty the worst the judge can do is find you guilty, if he disagrees with the cop then you get off the ticket. Just tell the judge that you were traveling along at normal speeds. Also that you have driven the road many times while it was raining and had no issues. Lying about small details, such as you were speeding is fine, and you should do it. Wear nice clothes, a suit of you have it, if not dress clothes.

In MD if you wish to plead not guilty your case gets moved to the end of the docket, while the guilty/explanation people go first. It tends to piss the judge/cop off because you're wasting their time frivolously if you really are guilty.

Im my county you submit your ticket saying not guilty, they then give you a court date. You go into court and explain your case to the judge, then the judge rules on your case.

 

[thescreensavers]

what car did you have op? jw

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: tasmanian

Im my county you submit your ticket saying not guilty, they then give you a court date. You go into court and explain your case to the judge, then the judge rules on your case.

I think most of the states(in USA) are similar. In MD you get a ticket. For anything short of the worst offenses court is optional. You can pay the ticket which admits guilt, but avoids court, or you can go into court, where you're assumed not guilty until the trial starts.

In MD They have fairly heavy case loads, so they value speediness. Unless you have a dick judge, or previous violations, they tend to take it easy on you. All they really look for is contrition and respect. People that go in with a chip on their shoulder, or want to play Perry Mason, aren't going to be looked on too kindly by the court, and they'll end up hammered(sometimes paying more than the original ticket was for).

 

[blahblah99]

Originally posted by: timosyy
It was thunderstorming & late at night (10pm)-- I merged onto the far right lane (was about to exit), hydroplaned, spun out, spun across all 4 lanes of traffic, slammed passenger side against the center guardrail, and must've spun some more because i was facing the right way again when I stopped.

Car is totaled, I'm fine (my knee and neck are bothering me now though, i think it was just adrenaline talking when i waved the ambulance guy off), but the cop wrote me up/charged me with "failure to maintain control of the vehicle" and i have to appear in court.

So my question is, what kind of charge is this? How do you plead guilty/not-guilty to that? Can I plead no contest or something? Basically, I have no idea what this charge means, am pretty confused (i've never gotten so much as a ticket before), and am wondering what comes next.

The charge means he was being nice to you. He could have easily ticketed you for going too fast.

 

[timosyy]

Googling this charge is scary. Class 1 misdemeanor? Considered Reckless Driving? Fine/Jail time?

I've been driving since 16 (i'm nearly 22), never got a single ticket/any sort of run-in with the police for anything in my life. I'm a senior in college with a 3.8 GPA (so i spend most of my time studying and not doing stupid things), and now I'm looking at a criminal record for crashing my car in a thunderstorm?

lessons learned.

 

[Bignate603]

Originally posted by: seemingly random

Originally posted by: timosyy
I have no idea what would make me sound like a douche, and the explanation is a simple one. I was speeding, it was raining, I hydroplaned/lost control and spun out, and crashed.

I don't have a problem taking responsibility, I just want to know the repercussions. What does probation entail? Can't drive car for x days?

If you speak in court, don't admit to a crime that you have not been charged with.

Is the nolo contendere plea still available?

Just be honest and humble.

I agree. The cop has said you were going to fast for the conditions but he may not have any proof you were over the limit. He just knows that you were going fast enough to hydroplane.

If you just moved from a place with drastically different weather you could claim you weren't familiar with the risk of hydroplaning. Otherwise, just say that you misjudged the correct speed for the condition, and that your record shows that this is your first time with this problem. Depending on how its going you may want to talk about how you luckily learned your lesson without any serious injuries and only damaging your own vehicle. It wouldn't hurt to have any insurance info about your car that shows that it is totaled out. Some judges will show mercy if you can show that you've already took a stiff financial penalty for your mistake when no one else was affected.

However, most of this is highly dependent on the judge and you will have to play it by ear. Hopefully you'll have a chance to sit and listen to how it goes for a few people.