My daughter was recently in an accident where she went off the road onto the soft shoulder. She said it felt like she was going to shoot through the ditch into on coming traffic. She over corrected, the car turned sideways and rolled. I realize she could have died and I am hesitant to even complain(I will not complain to her I don't want her to think the whole thing is not a big deal or that she is getting the shaft). She was cited for Failure to Maintain Control. My issue is this, nearly everyone in a single car accident and half the people in 2 car accident fail to maintain control yet I don't think it is a common ticket. I think it is a very common ticket for young people. I say this because I got 1 when I was about 17 and my son got one when he was about 17. My question is should we fight the ticket, I think we could win, or should I count my blessings and just be thankful that that terrifying phone call wasn't much worse?
Failure to Maintain control(Not trying to start a ticket theme)
- Thread starter Bigguns
- Start date
It sounds to me like your family has problems maintaining control of their vehicles. :smile:
I don't know it it would be worth fighting, it seems like they would have an easy case against her. Car going off the road and rolling = driver failed to maintain control of the car.
Was there weather involved, or did this happen in clear conditions?
But yeah, you're right, its not given out in all situations, only if the cop wants to be a **** about it. Unfortunately, there's no real arguing that she did fail to maintain control.
But yeah, you're right, its not given out in all situations, only if the cop wants to be a **** about it. Unfortunately, there's no real arguing that she did fail to maintain control.
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In a world where we're wise to pick our battles, why would this one be worth fighting?
Yes count your blessing. Sounds like she had a case of tire scrubbing and if that happened some really bad crashes occur. You could check along the road this occurred to see what the drop off was (the difference between the top of the pavement and the top of the shoulder material). Should not be more than 2". If so recommend to proper owner of the roadway i.e. county or state that they need to install the safety edge on it due to them not keeping up on maintenance.
My cousin's tell me they let people slide on the ticket if there are bad weather conditions that cause the accident or are a factor. They are both iowa state patrolmen but everyone does things differently.
I was talking to him one day at a family function in Marshaltown and asked him how fast someone needs to be going for him to pull someone over. He said if they are going the same direction and he is parked 10 mph or if he has to go another direction to get them 15 mph. That night on the way back to Ames I got pulled over going 15 over on 30 by a story county sheriff......
I was talking to him one day at a family function in Marshaltown and asked him how fast someone needs to be going for him to pull someone over. He said if they are going the same direction and he is parked 10 mph or if he has to go another direction to get them 15 mph. That night on the way back to Ames I got pulled over going 15 over on 30 by a story county sheriff......
If that's the case then every car that goes off the road and rolls the driver should get the same ticket. I am guessing they don't. As a matter of fact a co-worker did the same thing, same stretch of road, 40 years old no ticket. The tow truck driver calls that stretch of road the Bermuda Triangle. He said when they 1st opened that stretch of road their were 5 accidents a month at pretty much the same spot. The road is banked one way and the gravel shoulder is banked the opposite way.
Excellent question.
My brother got out of a failure to maintain control because it can only be issued under certain road conditions. The roads were icy and my brother quoted the state law for the criteria for that ticket to the judge. It was dismissed.
Also, if you can get out of the ticket it will help you insurance-wise. With that ticket the accident is an at-fault accident. You may be able to get this changed to a claim vs. an accident. It may reduce your premium at renewal.
Rainy, foggy and dark(no moon). But I would also consider those normal driving conditions along for Iowa.
on a side note.. what the hell does issuing a ticket solve that the accident itself already hasn't?
"yea you crashed and about died. heres a ticket for $150 bucks. ... Just doin my job to keep you safe." :skeptical:
"yea you crashed and about died. heres a ticket for $150 bucks. ... Just doin my job to keep you safe." :skeptical:
Its definitely not consistently enforced and seems to be up to the mood of the cop, no doubt. I'm not a lawyer, but just at first glance I wonder how effectively one can fight a failure to maintain control ticket when the driver clearly failed to maintain control? Your point on the construction of the road being a factor may be a starting point, if you can convince the court of that.
I assume the "failure to control" part is going onto the shoulder in the first place, not the actual crash. The shoulder is not intended to be driven on at high speed. If the car left the road and weather was not a factor, then it sounds like she lost control, wasn't able to regain control, and rolled the car.
I'm glad to hear she's okay, by the way. I've got three young daughters and I fear the day that they come home with a driver's license.
I'm glad to hear she's okay, by the way. I've got three young daughters and I fear the day that they come home with a driver's license.
It has been the root of many gray hairs for me. Actually my 2 son's more than my daughter. My daughter is a cautious driver, my sons still believe they are invincible. and if they are like their dad won't realize they are not until the pass age 40 going 100 miles an hour.
Just to be clear you want to fight a failure to maintain control ticket when she failed to maintain control strictly because a lot of people should get this ticket? Seems like instead of fighting the ticket you should lobby for the law to be changed.
I'd say a lot of accidents happen even if a driver is in control. A deer running out in the road. Tire blowing out or some other equipment failure. Other driver hitting you.
Count your blessings and move on. She did fail to maintain control, and the ticket is proper. Just because it isn't often enforced doesn't mean it isn't correct. You don't often see a jaywalking or littering ticket often but if you're issued one it doesn't mean it shouldn't have been written.
When I was 18 I got in a solo motorcycle accident. I was going about 50, when over some railroad tracks, the front tire hit a corn cob and I ended up skidding 100 yards on the pavement. While in the hospital the local cop came in and gave me a ticket. Classy.
