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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> you get hit=ticket+court=money?
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Message started by alcoa on 07/30/09 at 04:05:16

Title: you get hit=ticket+court=money?
Post by alcoa on 07/30/09 at 04:05:16

I would like to know of all of you that have been hit, was a ticket given what happen in court, did your or there ins. company pay, how much. What state did this happen in. I have never read anything about this.

Title: Re: you get hit=ticket+court=money?
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/30/09 at 06:51:03

Depends on who is at fault, whether or not theres a ticket.
I dont get the whole "court costs" thing. I mean, THEY told me to come there & NOW they want Me to pay the electric bill? Hello?

Title: Re: you get hit=ticket+court=money?
Post by seviersavage on 07/30/09 at 08:01:20

My brother was hit at a stop light from behind, drunk driver. He was uninsured. Totaled his bike, he was thankfully unhurt. His own insurance paid for the bike.
Sevier

Title: Re: you get hit=ticket+court=money?
Post by Boule’tard on 07/30/09 at 08:26:31

I got hit, no ticket for me, ticket for "failure to yield right of way" for the car driver. Driver did not get a ticket for lack of liability insurance (required in Texas) by the get-insurance-card/don't-pay-bill trick. Driver was honorable enough to pay my $150 student co-pay to get me patched up at the hospital, and eventually ::) enough to bridge the gap between the book value and salvage value of the bike (found a buyer willing to pay $300 for it).

Now I outfit my bikes with loud horns, one of which is going on my S40 this weekend. Fluorescent orange vests (http://www.filson.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2092240) don't hurt either. Court sucks and small-claims judgments have no teeth. The bureaucrats have no interest in helping you collect your money. A softer more respectful approach and polite phone calls have done much more for me than any judge, sheriff or collection agent.

Title: Re: you get hit=ticket+court=money?
Post by voldigicam on 07/30/09 at 08:34:56

Distinguish criminal and civil proceedings. Sometimes a criminal violation will not lead to a ticket or criminal charges, but can aid in filing civil suit. For example, here in TN there's a leash law imposing essentially total liability on the dog owner. You hit dog, get hurt, bike trashed. Generally their insurance company will admit liability even without any involvement of the police. The issue then becomes the amount of damages, with debate typically only involving the "pain and suffering" aspect.

In criminal court, as a victim you might be a witness. If the ADA thinks you're in violation of something you might be a defendant. It's possible to be both in a single incident.

In civil court, you might be either a plaintiff or a defendant or both (think "countersuit"). Generally civil cases go through depositions and a bit of discovery, then settle. Trials are pretty rare.

In civil suits, generally violation of a statute designed to protect people from what happened to the victim is good for the plaintiff. The defendant is assumed negligent and has to show they weren't, representing a reversal of the usual burden of proof. The defendant usually attempts to show some fault on the part of the victim. In a state following contributory negligence standards any fault will prevent recovery. Most states follow comparative fault, where the relative fault of the combatants figures into the award.

Example:

Motorcyclist (MC) whips through a corner where a robot cam/radar records his speed at 45 mph. The speed limit is 35 mph. Auto driver (AD) cuts the corner. He's doing 35, but crossed the line.

MC's speed is determined and agreed not to directly contribute to his impact with the car because he stayed in his lane. The law was not intended to protect oncoming traffic that veered out of its own lane.

AD's crossing the line violated the law and resulted in a ticket. The law was intended to protect oncoming traffic.

MD sues AD for damages on the basis (in part) of negligence per se - violation of a statute. The damage he suffered resulted from the violation of the law designed to protect him.

AD attempts to demonstrate that MC's actions were also negligent in that his excess speed both prevented MC from avoiding AD and resulted in greater injury.

The jury determines that MC's damages are $100,000 and that MC is 25% responsible for the incident. MC collects $75,000 from AD's insurance company. Or possibly from his own under uninsured motorist coverage, if push really comes to shove.

Meanwhile, MC pays his speeding ticket, but AD fights the fine and jail the young ADA wants, after stacking reckless driving and a host of other fun charges onto MC's back. Right before trial, the ADA and AD's lawyer (cleverly chosen because he was the ADA's trial practice instructor in law school) cut a deal for a guilty plea on crossing the line and causing injury. MC pays costs and a pretty decent fine, gets 2 years probation. Has to take a defensive driving course.

Everybody is happy except MC who ends up finding foot braking difficult after recovery and buys a Suzuki Burgman. None of his old friends will talk to him, and his new scooter buddies think his tattoos are really weird. But he's learning to like Starbucks and finds himself drawn to pastels. One day he finds he's distracted because he forgot to do a twitter update. He suddenly notices this and decides to hit a bridge abutment at 80 mph in horror.

Is MC responsible for his suicide?

The law is a wonderful thing.

Have fun.

Title: Re: you get hit=ticket+court=money?
Post by Serowbot on 07/30/09 at 11:25:32

I got hit by a truck last September,... Arizona,... other guy ticketed for running a stop sign. His insurance paid for bike and medical. No court.

Title: Re: you get hit=ticket+court=money?
Post by serenity3743 on 07/30/09 at 11:44:17

I skidded into the back bumper of a van on a wet street. City policeman was at the intersection and saw the whole thing. He said if neither of us wanted to report it, he wouldn't write it up. Only a tire mark on the rear bumper of the van, but I'm sure I would have been at fault. As it was, I had to shell out around $350 to replace my front forks and incidentals. It's got me driving a lot more cautiously in rainy weather.