Accident w/ police vehicle. At fault?

[lisses10]

Last weekend I was involved in an accident with a police vehicle. I was making a left turn, and did not immediately notice the oncoming car because the head lights were off. The police vehicle struck the passenger side of my vehicle.

I was shaken up and confused at the scene of the accident. They asked if I had been drinking that night, and I had so I replied yes, however, I had my last drink 4 hours prior to the accident.

I was arrested for DWI. I submitted to a breathalyzer test, and blew twice, however they said it wasn't registering, so I was not cooperating. They also issued a citation for refusal to submit to breathalyzer.

I received a citation for "failure to yield or stop".

I plan to take the DWI charges to trial, assuming that is what my lawyer will recommend. However, does a DWI charge automatically mean I am at fault? Its there any case for the fact he did not have headlights on, but will most likely deny that?

 

[jharris352]

You are at fault. The DWI has nothing to do with it. You made a left turn into on coming traffic. His lights being on or off does not change that.

 

[CdwJava]

If you had made an otherwise lawful left turn, then the officer should be at fault. However, since you were cited for a failure to yield or stop I presume that you are accused of running a stop sign or blowing a light. Or, the officer is alleging he had his lights and siren going.

In any event, it would be beneficial to at least consult an attorney to determine your options and the best way to handle this.

 

[mightymoose]

If it was late/dark enough that headlights were required then the officer is at fault- hopefully he is honest enough to admit they were off if they were.

I strongly suspect you were worried about a DUI and did not fully cooperate with the breathalyzer. They are simple to use, and unless you have a serious medical condition it is not hard to blow into them and get a reading. Your citation for that is probably legitimate.

If they did not get a blood sample from you then they will probably not be able to convict you on the DUI unless your state allows for that based on the failed breathalyzer. Probably beatable though.

Your citation for "failure to yield" is likely failure to yield the right of way, which is them blaming you for the accident. Failure to yield for a stop is a completely different scenario. If the officer's lights were off and there is evidence to that then you can probably beat the yielding citation.

The DUI will not automatically make you at fault for the accident. You can be convicted for the DUI and still collect damages from the officer if there is proof he was driving with the lights off.

 

[jharris352]

Thanks for your answer Moose, I was curious what the police are taught about that.

 

[CdwJava]

Curious about what being taught?

It may depend on what state you are in. Different states have different rules for DUI, claims for damages, and even liability for collisions. In CA (where Moose and I work) the primary collision factor is listed as DUI (23152(a)) only if the cause of the collision was an action by the DUI driver. NJ may have a different standard and may, indeed, hold that a DUI driver is automatically at fault.

Now, having one's headlights turned off is NOT a guarantee of fault. A lot will depend on other factors effecting visibility and whether or not the the OP failed to stop at a stop sign or a light. Had the OP failed to stop at a stop sign, and the blacked out vehicle had no such obligation to yield, the fault would almost certainly still lie with the OP for a number of reasons. Since we do not know the circumstances behind the failure to yield claim, we cannot say with any certainty whether this is the case.

 

[jharris352]

Taught wasn't exactly the word I was after I just posted in a hurry because my children were climbing on me.....

I meant I was curious to have a policeman's perspective.

 

[CdwJava]

Taught wasn't exactly the word I was after I just posted in a hurry because my children were climbing on me.....

Ah, yes ... my youngest (who is ten, mind you) still refers to me as his "fluffy pillow."

The others (14 and 16) just roll their eyes and tell me I'm not fair.