Unsafe Start; what to do?

[mustangbob]

Hey guys,

Was on my way to work this morning and decided to take the terminator for a change. I live in the boonies so the roads are not the best kept in the area and there is a lot of sand and gravel at some intersections.

When I was leaving one of the lights there was a lot of dirt and my tires squealed some and it fished tail very very slightly (I was barely giving it any gas and had to let off). Anyway a few minutes later an SUV starts tailgating me so I speed up to get away and get over so I can get gas and let them pass me up. Well they turn their lights on and pull me over. He asked me why he pulled me over and I said I thought someone was tail gating me and did not want to get rear ended (implying that I was speeding).

So he goes back writes up the ticket and tells me he is giving me a citation for unsafe start for doing a burn out at the intersection. I told him I did not mean to, I just lost traction for a second. He Told me I was doing it intentionally. (Since I love doing burnouts at high cop traffic areas 6:00 am in the morning when I am on the way to work or I am trying to race the minivan next to me )

So my question is, what should I do about the citation. Should I try to go to court or just bite the bullet. It happened in Indiana so I think it is 2 points and up to $1,000 fine for it. The citation does not have a cost amount for the fine so I am not really sure what it would cost.

Anyways, all help is appreciated

Thanks,

Bob

 

[JohninMD]

If it was my ticket, I would go back to that intersection and take pictures of the road that has the sand and gravel on it. Then go to court and explain it wasnt intentional and show the judge your evidence of why it happened. I would explain that if it was on purpose it would have been much more dramatic than it was when you took off.

 

[CPRsm]

I would explain that if it was on purpose it would have been much more dramatic than it was when you took off.

And probably left tire marks if intentional.

 

[svtcop]

So you are aware of the road conditions and still spun your tires and "fishtailed"?

Understand that just because there is gravel and dirt on the road it does not give you a free pass to start in an unsafe manner. The act of your tires spinning (losing traction) and your car sliding from side to side, regardless of what the road surface is constitutes an unsafe start.

Do you slow down in the rain? Do you start a little easier when the roads are wet? Do you give yourself a little more room to stop when the roads are slick due to any other condition?

You might have a slight argument if you were unaware of the road conditions but you are still required to be able to operate your vehicle in an unsafe manner regardless.

By your description I would still feel comfortable arguing against you in court.

1000 bucks for an unsafe start in indiana? sounds a little high to me. :shrug:

 

[JerryC]

I don't know...

I think that everybody has inadvertently spun a tire or got sideways due to road conditions even with the best of intentions.

Near me is an intersection that has a stop sign at the top of a car length incline. There is a wide white stripe painted at the top of the incline to denote the stopping point. This is a "Tee" intersection with only options of turning left or right. On dry days seems like half the people spin a tire going over that line, even though they have gone through intersection hundreds of times over the years. In the rain of snow, forget it, you're spinning unless you have 4WD.

Fishtailing though, that's hard to explain away as just sand and gravel.

 

[svtcop]

I don't know...

I think that everybody has inadvertently spun a tire or got sideways due to road conditions even with the best of intentions.

Near me is an intersection that has a stop sign at the top of a car length incline. There is a wide white stripe painted at the top of the incline to denote the stopping point. This is a "Tee" intersection with only options of turning left or right. On dry days seems like half the people spin a tire going over that line, even though they have gone through intersection hundreds of times over the years. In the rain of snow, forget it, you're spinning unless you have 4WD.

Fishtailing though, that's hard to explain away as just sand and gravel.

I agree that most people have let their cars get away from them. But by definition they would be guilty of "failure to control" or something along those lines depending on the state wording.

People with the "best intentions" cause crashes too. Whether they lost control of their car, turned in front of someone they didn't see, spun their car out on gravel due to accelerating too fast..etc. No reason to take it personally, no one thinks the OP is a bad person because of what he did. He committed a traffic violation. Not really a big deal. That is one of the main reasons people want to "argue" a citation. It's not personal, you don't need ill intentions to commit a traffic offense.

OP, just go to court and plead your case if you wish. Dress and act in a professional manner and see what happens. You won't make things worse either way.

Good luck

 

[mustangbob1]

So you are aware of the road conditions and still spun your tires and "fishtailed"?

Understand that just because there is gravel and dirt on the road it does not give you a free pass to start in an unsafe manner. The act of your tires spinning (losing traction) and your car sliding from side to side, regardless of what the road surface is constitutes an unsafe start.

Do you slow down in the rain? Do you start a little easier when the roads are wet? Do you give yourself a little more room to stop when the roads are slick due to any other condition?

You might have a slight argument if you were unaware of the road conditions but you are still required to be able to operate your vehicle in an unsafe manner regardless.

By your description I would still feel comfortable arguing against you in court.

1000 bucks for an unsafe start in indiana? sounds a little high to me. :shrug:

Yeah, when I say fish tailed I don't mean like a lot, the rear scooted maybe a few inches to the right, just enough that I could feel in the seat the car was not getting full traction and let off. There are several other intersections and roads like that in the area, one of them I can barely get traction on in the first 4 gears, as soon as I start to give it gas it wants to break loose. And this is a stock engine. When you live in a poor county that can't afford salt for the winter they use sand and cinders and it never really gets totally cleaned up on the roads. I was trying to drive as safe as possible, and like I said it was 6 am on the way to work, I had no reason for doing it intentionally.

 

[FordSVTFan]

Yeah, when I say fish tailed I don't mean like a lot, the rear scooted maybe a few inches to the right, just enough that I could feel in the seat the car was not getting full traction and let off. There are several other intersections and roads like that in the area, one of them I can barely get traction on in the first 4 gears, as soon as I start to give it gas it wants to break loose. And this is a stock engine. When you live in a poor county that can't afford salt for the winter they use sand and cinders and it never really gets totally cleaned up on the roads. I was trying to drive as safe as possible, and like I said it was 6 am on the way to work, I had no reason for doing it intentionally.

Go to court and dress and act appropriately and the judge will rule accordingly.

BTW, why are you using two different screen names? Pick one and the other one will be deleted.

 

[svtcop]

Yeah, when I say fish tailed I don't mean like a lot, the rear scooted maybe a few inches to the right, just enough that I could feel in the seat the car was not getting full traction and let off. There are several other intersections and roads like that in the area, one of them I can barely get traction on in the first 4 gears, as soon as I start to give it gas it wants to break loose. And this is a stock engine. When you live in a poor county that can't afford salt for the winter they use sand and cinders and it never really gets totally cleaned up on the roads. I was trying to drive as safe as possible, and like I said it was 6 am on the way to work, I had no reason for doing it intentionally.

A few inches doesn't seem all that bad when you explain it better. I wonder if the audible sound of your can and the gravel made it seem worse than it really was? :shrug:

Go to court and dress and act appropriately and the judge will rule accordingly.

Not much else to do but this. Good luck.

 

[Guy Fawkes]

You know I was not there so cant say, but I hate it when cops assume the worst just because I drive a sportish car with some torque. I have tried to take off from certain spots with gravel, its spun the tires for a split second as well. I always immediately let off to correct however I would be pissed if an officer just assumed it was on purpose.

 

[svtcop]

You know I was not there so cant say, but I hate it when cops assume the worst just because I drive a sportish car with some torque. I have tried to take off from certain spots with gravel, its spun the tires for a split second as well. I always immediately let off to correct however I would be pissed if an officer just assumed it was on purpose.

What part of you do not have to commit a traffic offense on purpose to be guilty of that offense do you guys not understand?

Learn how to control your vehicles. :nonono:

 

[Fenixfire]

OP is guilty of unsafe start no matter what, but ill be damned if I didnt say that was being nit picky as hell.

Still, I understand the officers point of view as well. His mindset was the driver was hot rodding it. In general, if the driver had a good attitude/behavior and if their explanation was satisfying then a warning would be fine, but if they were at all standoffish then their getting a ticket.

At this point, all the OP can do is hope they catch the Judge in a good mood.

 

[mach1won]

im from indiana as well and last year I got an unsafe start ticket on my bike. decided to just pay up and move on. ticket was like 240 or somewhere around there I can't remeber. i wouldnt press my luck in court, just a waste of time in my book.

 

[Silver2003Cobra]

What part of you do not have to commit a traffic offense on purpose to be guilty of that offense do you guys not understand?

Learn how to control your vehicles. :nonono:

either that, or get a vehicle that doesn't have enough power to spin a tire on gravel.. since I can guarantee that a car with 600 ft lbs torque right off idle (if floored) can EASILY spin it's tires on a slick surface even when you don't mean to...

 

[mustangbob1]

Got the issue pretty resolved. Talked to the prosecutor and he gave me the option to deffer the ticket so basically I had to pay the fine + a little more and not get any tickets within the next 12 months. But upside is it doesn't get sent to the BMV and I don't have to pay more for insurance. I guess it all comes down to money.

 

[VenomRogue]

12 months is an awful long time for deferred.

its usually 90-180 days.




and yes, it is all about your money, and them getting it.

 

[evolverxvx]

Got the issue pretty resolved. Talked to the prosecutor and he gave me the option to deffer the ticket so basically I had to pay the fine + a little more and not get any tickets within the next 12 months. But upside is it doesn't get sent to the BMV and I don't have to pay more for insurance. I guess it all comes down to money.

12 months for a deferment in Indiana? I'd say you got shafted. Or maybe the prosecutor was just making you be overly cautious. The deferment program for my last speeding ticket was only 6 months. Whereabouts in Indiana did this happen? (I live southside of Indianapolis).