Car did a 360 on highway ice. cop cited me for careless driving?

i was driving less than 50 mph with the flow of traffic. but i wanted to slow down a little bit cause i get nervous driving with snow. next thing you know, my car spins around and as soon as i spin, another car hits me. the next day the lady calls me. and says that i shouldnt have been cited for careless driving. it was icy and there was nothing i could have done.That if i need a witness, her and her boyfriend(who was in another car) would vouch for me. there were like 20 accidents that same day. they had to shut down the entire highway. now my insurance co says that i have to accept liability for damages. mainly because i was cited for careless driving.

Fred C

You are responsible for maintaining control of your vehicle, ice or not, ticket or not. In most cases you get the ticket as well.

bob (robert) ned ted

appears your screwd... if the roads are icy and/or snow covered i personally do no more then 40 ever. ohh and remember braking can lead to spin outs so use your breaks wisely when driving on ice

Unfortunately it's the driver's responsibility to maintain control of his/her vehicle at all times regardless of conditions. Therefore in the eyes of the law, you were driving "carelessly" if you lost control of the vehicle for any reason (doing a 360 at any speed on the highway is "losing control of the vehicle" regardless of weather or any other reason why it happened).

You could get a lawyer and maybe get the fine for the ticket reduced etc., but I think you're probably screwed with regard to your insurance company holding you liable because I highly doubt the police are going to drop the ticket entirely whether or not you get a lawyer or have a witness. Fact is that you did lose control of the car, and that's all the cop has to prove.

Vicky S

Regardless of the conditions you lost control of the car therefore it is calssed as careless driving.

Ryan S

You may be able to fight your ticket in court because of the conditions. But regardless of the conditions, you still lost control of your car and caused an accident, you still have to accept liability.

JACK OF TRADES

When you have an accident and you loose control it's your fault, you were driving too fast for the road conditions.
Careless driving and wreckless driving are very different things. Yours is due to the fact that when you don't have
good driving skills. You need to properly understand how a car performs on slick surfaces. Not all are the same either,
front and rear drive as well as 4 wheel drive will all be different and should be handled differently. The best way to learn this is to take your car to a snow covered parking lot and play around. As long as there are no bare spots and you stay away from all curbs and obstructions you should be fine.
Have fun with it, you are learning how the car stops, turns and how to pull out of a slide. It's not only great fun but very valuble learning. As long as the lot is well covered with snow the car shouldn't get hurt. Don't over rev the engine though.

Oh yeah get a lawyer for that ticket, your insurance rates will go through the roof if it sticks!

dell_fargus

Not being a wise-guy or anything, but get yourself a lawyer.

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