I was involved in an accident with someone with a suspended license, can I get out of a ticket because of this?
Question Details:
I was involved in an accident where I was cited for failing to yield because the accident was considered prima facia evidence. There were 2 witnesses who stated that the other driver was speeding and not paying attention because I was 90% through my turn. The other driver was cited with driving on a "suspended, revoked, or cancelled license.Would I be able to get my ticket dropped due to the other driver's negligence, or perhaps them driving on a suspended license being the proximate cause of the accident? What remedies may be available if any?
The discretion of the judge will determine whether or not the ticket is dismissed. Although it is impossible to predict the decision of a court, it is unlikely that the judge will dismiss the ticket unless you can defeat the claim of failure to yield. That would not be affected by the other driver having a suspended, revoked or cancelled license. If you can prove that the other driver was speeding and not paying attention, you may be able to defeat the failure to yield citation.
However, many states apply the doctrine of comparative negligence in which both you and the other driver could both be found negligent to a certain extent which would be expressed as a percentage of negligence for each driver. If your state uses comparative negligence, it will be very difficult for you to defeat the failure to yield citation and claim no negligence on your part despite the fact that the other driver was also negligent.
