accident and ticket question
 

so on 10/26/07 my girlfriend got into an accident caused by a deer jumping in front of her suv. now this was one of those days where it was raining non stop for 3 or so days. she was on a back road on her way from school. like stated above, a deer jumped out in front of her suv and she swerved and ended up doing a 180 into a tree. she was going less then the posted speed limit. so long story short the state troopers said she wasn't going to recieve any citations in the mail because it was caused by a deer.

now today, 11/5/07, she recieved 2 citations in the mail. one of them really doesn't make sense. so here they are:

first citation: (the one that doesn't make sense)

driving on roadways laned for traffic

the trooper said " the defendant did operate above said vehicle in a manor and drove off roadway causing a crash. vehicle was not driven within a single lane."

now the manor causing her to crash was a deer. there was no mention of a deer on this citation, but on a paper she recieved from the trooper on the day of the accident, he noted a deer on it. she swerved and did a 180 into the opposing lane and then struck the tree.


second citation:

driving at a safe speed citation

i actually don't understand this one either. so now you can get a citation for driving at a safe speed? the trooper said " the defendant did operate above said vehicle at a speed greater than what will permit the driver to bring her vehicle to a stop within the assured safe distance ahead causing a crash." but here he is contradicting himself with the citation.

so again, the accident was cause by a deer. that still isn't stated in this citation. so i guess they went out there a couple of days later and conducted a field test to see that if driving the speed limit and swerving from a deer you should stop within "said" distance? the distance from where the deer jumped out at and where she hit the tree is no more, and i mean no more than 15 yrds. so i dont see how an suv can stop from going the posted speed limit of 25-30mph can stop safely from swerving to avoid a deer on wet ground that has been rained on for 3+ days.

now hitting the deer would/could have been bad. so i guess by these citations, she should have just struck the deer?

the car is totalled. so any help would be much appreciated. sorry for this being so long. hope i didn't take up too much of your time. if i did, my apologies.

thanks

Without seeing the accident report I can only tell from your post that the trooper felt that she was "driving to fast for conditions" ie the rain slick roadway. As for the driving off road you should have her call the Trooper and ask him to explain the summons to her as to why she got them. If you don't aggree with the trooper after you speak to him. go to court you have a good chance that you can win on the driving off road that one seems weak.

ok thank you for your help. it just seems a little strange that the one citation says she drove a safe speed and was getting a citation for it, then he contradicts himself by saying she was to fast for the conditions. when we talked to him he said that she was driving the speed limit by the look of the accident and said there was going to be no citations given. but now she got them and he is saying total opposite.

i basically just dont understand how you get a citation for getting into an accident by avoiding a deer and then they throw in all this stuff about the speed when the clearly agreed she wasn't speeding. i also dont understand why there is no mention of a deer on the citation now, but on the accident report, it is there.

FYI

This 2nd ticket carries 2 points on a conviction, and if it makes it less confusing, is also referred to as "Driving too fast for conditions".

ok so what your saying is you can't swerve into other lanes to avoid a deer cause its against the law? cause if i read #1 right it said "shall not be moved from the lane until the driver has first ascertained that the movement can be made with safety." if there wasn't anyone around then im sure her avoiding the deer trying to keep her self safe by swerving was made with safety. she didn't end up in the other lane until the suv pulled a 180 and then into a tree.


and driving the speed limit is too fast for conditions? not to sound smart or anything but i've never heard of a speed limit for when it rains, as long as your doing the posted limit.


appreciate the response though.

Thanks LAW for the PA law info!

Now you don't need to contact the State Trooper for that info. I would advise you to go to court if the trooper wrote in his report you avoided a deer the judge may dismiss the summons... If the deer was BS that your girlfriend told the Trooper thinking it would avoid a summons pay the tickets. The court costs will run you more money if you can't prove your case.
Good Luck!

ok thank you. now how could we prove there was a deer if it was never hit? just doesn't add up. thanks for all of the information.

I don't think you can prove there was a deer involved in the accident. I'm sure that what the invesigating officer felt too.

You still need to look at the accident report if the report says that the accident was caused by a deer you may be able to get rid of the summons for the lane change. I would bet she'll still have to pay the driving to fast for conditions summons. The posted speed is for clear and dry conditions, if the road is wet or icy or foggy you have to drive at a speed inwhich you can control you car. Most of the time that means slower then the posted limt.
I hope we have helped you

yes you guys definitely have helped. the accident report does have deer on it. i saw him write it and he even showed us for insurance purposes. thank you again so much for the help.