In a car accident, can one person be cited for driving without insurance but not another?
Question Details:
My mom was in an accident, with no insurance; was cited for same but nothing else. The other driver presented a card and was not cited at the scene. Later was found to be at fault and in fact did not have insurance, was cited for both. However, they are suspending my mom's license but not his. Does this make sense. She is appealing with the DOT.
You can't worry about the state is or is not doing to the other driver. The fact is that unequal treatment by state enforcement or regulatory divisions is universal: why is one tax payer audited by not another? Why does one person get jail time for a drug offense while another gets probation? Etc. Discretion is built into the system, and unless unequal treatment can be shown to the result of some systematic bias (such as against a racial group), there is no issue with it.
You can certainly appeal the determination, if you believe it is too harsh, is not based on the evidence, is going against DOT rules, practice, regulatios, or the law, etc.; but you have to appeal based on the facts of your mother's case, not based on how someone else is treated.
You and your mother should retain a lawyer to help her, if you have not already; it is worth the expense, to increase chance of keeping her license.
