Scary Night. I was on my way to see everyone at a party at Scott's, because a lot of people that I'd gone to school with were in town for the long weekend. I'd gotten all dressed up, and was going to go by Rochelle's on the way there to pick her up. That's the best the story gets. On the way there, I was going from 285 to 85, and on the on-ramp, I was in the right merging lane and another guy was in the left merging lane. Eventually these two lanes become one and are the righthand lane of 85S. Well, the roads were wet from the rain an hour earlier, and I assume a wheel on my car slipped, because my car started spinning. It was REALLY REALLY SCARY. I spun left, and knocked the car on my left, and then spun right off the road. Thank G-d I didn't spin INTO the highway. It could have been a lot worse. There was a girl that saw the accident that pulled over too, and not 5 minutes after the accident, there was a police on the scene. Everyone's stories matched, so it was a no-brainer, I guess. Well, the guy I hit kept asking me if I was "under the influence". Apparently, me telling him no, and the cop not asking me about it wasn't enough, he had to ask me multiple times. I was trying to stay really calm throughout the whole process, even though I was scared shitless - alone, on the side of I-85, after hydroplaning and spinning out of control. And he must've asked me 3-4 times if I was drunk. Well anyway, I was shaking, and we all traded info, I got a ticket for "Failure to Maintain Lane", and we were all on our way.
Right as I got back home, the guy I hit called me. He wanted basically to know how I wanted to settle - if I wanted my insurance to pay, or to pay out of pocket. I need to look and see how the insurance companies work or whatever, since this is my first time having to deal with this, so I told him I would call him back tomorrow. Well, twice more, he asked me if I "was under the influence". I finally cracked my cool, and said "I'm not an idiot, I wouldn't be driving if I'd had something to drink". I guess that was that and we got off the phone. I still have to call him tomorrow and follow-up, but I am still in a shaky mood, and frustrated and mad at the whole event.
I'm sure he would love to see me if I was drunk, and maybe compare me to the demeanor I was in today, and maybe then, he'd believe me that I was not drunk. But I guess that's not an option.
I need to try to go to sleep, or else I will keep replaying this event in my head for hours.
Oh, I need to figure out some stuff about the police report, if anyone knows. I had to sign outside in the dark - he just pointed to where I had to sign and said what he was giving me the ticket for. When I got home and I could read it in the light, I noticed he had marked that the road was dry - which it wasn't. Is there a way to contest that? Also, he marked that my hair was brown - not sure if he was looking at me, or my license, since all my other info was off my license. Can I get the road condition changed? Does it matter?
2 comments:
It seems to me that you could point out his failure to note your haircolor as evidence of the cop's inattention to detail, along with the clear knowledge of weather being rainy at that spot at that time. Other than that, I'm no expert, but I guess that's the angle at which I'd approach it. Since your insurance has it in their best interest to prove that you were not really at fault, I'd ask them how you should approach it. Unfortunately, signing that document may have been an admission of fault, so it might be irreversible.
I hate when cops are inaccurate. As representatives of the law and as an example of how best to follow it, they should be the most honest among us. It hardly seems to be the case, though.
Bummer. We're glad you're fine, though. Sounds like it could have been plenty worse.
Well I have good news and bad news.
The good news is that signing the ticket is not an admission of guilt. I've signed enough traffic citations to know that for certain. :/
The bad news is that it doesn't matter if you could prove that the roads were wet or not, hydroplaning is still your fault in the insurance company's opinion. Even if your tires were bald they would just blame you for not properly maintianing your vehicle. And if there was a foot of standing water they'd blame you for driving too fast.
I know this sucks, but it will all pass and you'll be able to laugh about it someday. Just ask me about the time I was pulled over for 97 in a 55. Or the time that I destroyed a $12,000 car which I had owned for a month because I was doing 105mph down a back road.
Believe it or not, I have a clean driving record. Or I did until the Texas Highway Patrol decided to ruin that for me. Grr.
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