Minor accident in left hand turn lane

Mortimore

New Member
Jurisdiction
Florida
I was ready to enter the left hand turn lane and a car had entered the lane too soon and there was a minor fender "touch". My car had a little of his paint but no dent (I was able to wipe the paint off my car). He asked me not to call the police and just pay him $30 or $40 but I refused. The other driver's car had multiple dents from previous accidents but I am not sure the officer who came to the call realized that. I was charged with careless driving. Now I have a notice from the court that the case can be adjudicated with no points against my driver's license if I accept a Conditional Plea of No Contest and pay the fine of $162. I do not think I was at fault as I was following the traffic marking lines for the turn lane and had my left hand turn signal on. I heard the officer say to the other driver that he should not have been in the lane before it was marked as a turn lane. Should I accept the adjudication or ask for a court date?
 
I was ready to enter the left hand turn lane and a car had entered the lane too soon and there was a minor fender "touch". My car had a little of his paint but no dent (I was able to wipe the paint off my car). He asked me not to call the police and just pay him $30 or $40 but I refused. The other driver's car had multiple dents from previous accidents but I am not sure the officer who came to the call realized that. I was charged with careless driving. Now I have a notice from the court that the case can be adjudicated with no points against my driver's license if I accept a Conditional Plea of No Contest and pay the fine of $162. I do not think I was at fault as I was following the traffic marking lines for the turn lane and had my left hand turn signal on. I heard the officer say to the other driver that he should not have been in the lane before it was marked as a turn lane. Should I accept the adjudication or ask for a court date?
That is not a question that we can answer for you. You need to make the decision for yourself.
 
Should I accept the adjudication or ask for a court date?

That is your decision to make.

Generally if one believes he/she isn't GUILTY, one should plead not guilty and endeavor to illustrate flaws in the state's case.

What the police officer thinks is as relevant as what I think. Why? Neither of us were present at the scene of the collision.

You did do something correctly.

You didn't fail to summon the police to the scene and satisfy the other person's demand for tribute.
 
Should I accept the adjudication or ask for a court date?

Be honest: do you really care what a bunch of anonymous strangers who have, at best, only a vague description of what happened think about this? Be honest, and, if you genuinely believe you have a good argument, then fight it. Otherwise, pay the ticket and move on with your life.
 
That you received a citation does not mean you were wrong. In court the issuing officer will have to explain why you received the citation, and you will have opportunity to question him.
You need to decide whether your time arguing this in court is worth saving $162.
Even if no points are assessed it would likely still be on your driving record, so you will want to discuss all the details before accepting the offer.
 
I heard the officer say to the other driver that he should not have been in the lane before it was marked as a turn lane.

Note that you can upload files here. If you can draw a diagram showing the left turn lane and the positions of the two vehicle upon impact, what part of what car hit the other car, and give me a link to the location on google maps, I might be able to give you a reasonably qualified opinion.
 
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