A few weeks ago I was down at a local park In the parking lot with a friend of mine after a large rain storm. There were extremely large puddles all over the ground and i thought it would be fun to go driving through them. On my last sweep I drove through a puddle and water splashed up on my windshield making me unable to see a small island of woodchips surrounded by a curb. needless to say I ended up hitting the curb and breaking my oil pan which caused oil to leak into the puddle which i was driving through. a nearby worker thought he needed to call the police and report it. when the cop arrived i was issued a careless driving ticket for $210 and three points on my license. Not that the points matter because when i was 16 I received a speeding ticket and under michigan law after you get your license at 16 you are under a type of probation on your license for six months that forces you to follow certain curfews while driving. after my speeding ticket i received a letter in the mail saying that my license was to be placed under probation for three years and any traffic violation within that time could cause me to have a suspended license. So if i cant successfully fight this ticket I'm more or less screwed. But the way i see It Careless driving in michigan is defined as "a person who operates a vehicle upon a highway or a frozen public lake, stream, or pond or other place open to the general public including an area designated for the parking of vehicles in a careless or negligent manner likely to endanger any person or property, but without wantonness or recklessness, is responsible for a civil infraction.” I wasn't driving in a manner likely to endanger any property, my car wasn't going above 10-15 mph and the only thing I damaged was my car. and I definitely wasn't driving in a manner likely to endanger another person. For one the park was supposed to be closed due to all the water and i wasn't made aware of that until after the police were called. I just need help strengthening my argument and i need help coming back against any rebuttals or curve balls they might throw at me. Please help.
Answers (1)
you probably shouldn't have been running through the puddles at any rate the problem occurred when the water hit your winsheild that's when the carelessness come to light I would make sure you have insurance say your sorry it won't happen again pay what ever he brings the ticket down to and say it won't happen agian