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- Newbie
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2010 5:40 pm
Careless Driving Charge (stopped At A Yellow)
Hi everyone,
I'm looking for advice on a careless driving charge that I was given. I was taking my driving test and near the end of the exam I was driving near an intersection when the light turned yellow. Not wanting to fail the test because I ran a yellow, I put on the brakes. A few seconds later a car ran into me.
The damage was relatively light for both vehicles but the instructor berated me for stopping at a yellow and the officer gave me a careless driving ticket (~$490 and the points deduction and insurance increase). Because of the extreme penalties attached to this charge, I'm a little shell-shocked and looking for advice on whether I can successfully fight this in court given that I was run into because the driver behind me ASSUMED I was going through the light. Now the officer did explain that cars are expected to go through a yellow light when 'past the point of no return' but I did not want to push my luck during a driver's exam.
Can anyone shed some light on my situation? I do not believe I was being reckless, and the accident happened because I was being too careful and the person behind me was not prepared to stop at the light.