Cop makes u-turn making tractor trailer avoid crash

[Jman]

alright guys just some advice... i was trucking thursday coming home from work in the truck, i pull a flatbed and i was loaded. cop stops short and pulls a u-turn with no lights into a cutout on the left. there was a couple of cars in fornt of me but bhind the cop. i ran out of road and had to bail to left last sec and went about 1/2 a van length aside van to avoid rearending the van.
becuase there was about a foot of shoulder on the right with a bigass moutnain embankment, now the cop had mailed me a careless driving ticket, i've talked to alot of cop buddies and fire dept guys but just want to post up here, i've got a couple options to try to fight this just wanted to see what you guys have to say...
i'll post up some pics of roadway and sketch later on.
so cop stops short and pulls a uturn with no lights i avoid an accident and he cites me for careless driving... becuase of his manuver i had to do what i did... what do u guy think?

 

[FordSVTFan]

alright guys just some advice... i was trucking thursday coming home from work in the truck, i pull a flatbed and i was loaded. cop stops short and pulls a u-turn with no lights into a cutout on the left. there was a couple of cars in fornt of me but bhind the cop. i ran out of road and had to bail to left last sec and went about 1/2 a van length aside van to avoid rearending the van.
becuase there was about a foot of shoulder on the right with a bigass moutnain embankment, now the cop had mailed me a careless driving ticket, i've talked to alot of cop buddies and fire dept guys but just want to post up here, i've got a couple options to try to fight this just wanted to see what you guys have to say...
i'll post up some pics of roadway and sketch later on.
so cop stops short and pulls a uturn with no lights i avoid an accident and he cites me for careless driving... becuase of his manuver i had to do what i did... what do u guy think?

You were not maintaining a safe distance. Had you maintained a safe distance, when a vehicle in front of you has to emergency brake, you can respond in time without evasive manuevers.

 

[CLOCKWO12K]

rofl, haven't seen you disagree with an LEO ever.
if an LEO does something illegal, take him to court. fight it.
they have to obey the same laws we do, if they were allowed to be above the law it would defeat the whole system. as well an officer giving you a ticket for avoiding an accident is ridiculous, and there is nothing illegal about pulling onto the shoulder of the road. hearing things like this disgusts me.

 

[FordSVTFan]

rofl, haven't seen you disagree with an LEO ever.
if an LEO does something illegal, take him to court. fight it.
they have to obey the same laws we do, if they were allowed to be above the law it would defeat the whole system. as well an officer giving you a ticket for avoiding an accident is ridiculous, and there is nothing illegal about pulling onto the shoulder of the road. hearing things like this disgusts me.

Wow, in your whole two months here, you havent seen me disagree with a L.E.O.

You need to learn something about the law before you post inaccurate and simply wrong information. There are plenty of exemptions/exceptions written into the law for L.E.O.s acting within the scope of their employment.

It is a violation of the law to not maintain a safe distance from the car in front of you, and having to emergency brake and go into the shoulder is evidence of exactly that.

 

[cuban]

the op is f'd. your word against his and we all know how that will go. granted its a little shady him mailing you a tickett after without actually pulling you over.

 

[Iceman II]

I would say give court a try with a jury and explain yourself, bring pictures and any witnesses if you can. Adam has a valid point, but one can move over to avoid a crash. Yes, it is your word against the officers and you will have to make your point very clearly.

 

[CSD]

alright guys just some advice... i was trucking thursday coming home from work in the truck, i pull a flatbed and i was loaded. cop stops short and pulls a u-turn with no lights into a cutout on the left. there was a couple of cars in front of me but behind the cop. i ran out of road and had to bail to left last sec and went about 1/2 a van length aside van to avoid rearending the van.
becuase there was about a foot of shoulder on the right with a bigass moutnain embankment, now the cop had mailed me a careless driving ticket, i've talked to alot of cop buddies and fire dept guys but just want to post up here, i've got a couple options to try to fight this just wanted to see what you guys have to say...
i'll post up some pics of roadway and sketch later on.
so cop stops short and pulls a uturn with no lights i avoid an accident and he cites me for careless driving... becuase of his manuver i had to do what i did... what do u guy think?

Adam is right, as per what you stated above you were not maintaining a safe distance. I would go to court and chat with the prosecutor. If your CDL is clean I could see this charge being knocked down to an unsafe driving charge. Do your homework and explain your case clearly.

 

[Moparkidd]

how much of a distance were you giving? how big of a rig do you drive? and how much was your gross weight on this load? also depending on the cops actions and your distance you were giving yourself to brake given the load you had on and how big of a truck you do drive will tell if you actually have anything to fight, if it was your bad, just man up and take it, if you are being legit and had plenty of distance to stop, it sounds like you wouldnt have had to make such a manuever to avoid a crash.

 

[20LethalVenom03]

Wow, in your whole two months here, you havent seen me disagree with a L.E.O.

You need to learn something about the law before you post inaccurate and simply wrong information. There are plenty of exemptions/exceptions written into the law for L.E.O.s acting within the scope of their employment.

It is a violation of the law to not maintain a safe distance from the car in front of you, and having to emergency brake and go into the shoulder is evidence of exactly that.

a loaded tractor trailer man, we'll go on the safe side of things and say its loaded light and it only weighs 60,000 pounds. thats 30 tons. lets say there is two semi-truck lengths between the truck and the officer. we'll say the roads a 55mph speed zone, and they're doing 60mph, said officer locks up brakes without looking in his mirrors, the truck weighing 30tons is not stopping in 2 truck lengths which is more then plenty for following distance on a freeway. hell, by the time he realizes what the cops doing he has almost only seconds to react, Look at it from his point. jmo.

 

[FordSVTFan]

a loaded tractor trailer man, we'll go on the safe side of things and say its loaded light and it only weighs 60,000 pounds. thats 30 tons. lets say there is two semi-truck lengths between the truck and the officer. we'll say the roads a 55mph speed zone, and they're doing 60mph, said officer locks up brakes without looking in his mirrors, the truck weighing 30tons is not stopping in 2 truck lengths which is more then plenty for following distance on a freeway. hell, by the time he realizes what the cops doing he has almost only seconds to react, Look at it from his point. jmo.

Actually, two truck lengths is not enough distance because the driver is expected to be able to stop if a person emergency brakes in front of them, as is the case here.

 

[20LethalVenom03]

Actually, two truck lengths is not enough distance because the driver is expected to be able to stop if a person emergency brakes in front of them, as is the case here.

how often on a busy freeway or interstate is it possible to have nessecary stopping distance? I know for a fact within 100 miles of new york city either way its near impossible.

 

[FordSVTFan]

how often on a busy freeway or interstate is it possible to have nessecary stopping distance? I know for a fact within 100 miles of new york city either way its near impossible.

Okay. :shrug:

 

[Silver2003Cobra]

ok... so he's not maintaining a safe distance.. is that his fault, or the fault that he tried to maintain a safe distance and people in 4 wheelers pulled in front of him, removing the distance he was trying to maintain.. there's a lot more here than what is being said by the OP.. I'd defintiely fight this one in a court..

 

[Moparkidd]

actually lethal, i rarely see a truck that grosses 60,000 depending on his load, it couldve been, but most i see on a regular basis, and i do weigh trucks everynight, are at least 80,000 also what kind of u-turn was the cop making that made you bail to the left? it couldve been the cops fault, but its doubtful, as a truck driver, D.O.T expects you to be a better driver than anyone else on the road, your expected to be more aware of everyone else because you supposedly have more training.

 

[Jman]

nj dmv book says it is 1 sec per every 10 foot of vehicle... my truck is 265" wheelbase with a 48' flatbed... so roughly 60 feet? that would be 6 sec of distance... and the book states it is safer to swerve out of the way rather than mash on the brakes,

 

[Moparkidd]

well depending on the situation, none of us were there. go to court, fight it. go home.

 

[Jman]

yes i understand... should i write the cop a ticket? will it give me leverage as far as talkin to prosecutor? my game plan is writing him same ticket and duke it out in court...
u had to be there situation but i mean NO LIGHTS he went over double yellow as well as me. i never got pulled over tho technically just radioed into other town and sgt (as a friend and politely) followed me and got my name and number thats all... he and the other town cops thought he just wanted to talk to me thats all... but to my suprise i got a nice phone call stating he's writing me and a summons was soon to follow the next day in the mail... i honestly dont think i deserve this and the cop will not admit to one ounce of fault... if i send pics maybe u all can understand what kind of road this was where it was honestly a stupid move on his part.. the other officers are even suprised he did that... i understand cops are the law, and see them do some things some may not approve of but to put this on me is nuts. i'm only trying to fight fire with fire... just wanted to post here to get some LEO's advise and other truckers as well... i'm not tryin to stir anything up here just saying honestly how it is... thanks

 

[Moparkidd]

i guess its just up to you at this point. but remember its your word against his. be careful

 

[TERMIN8TR]

You were not maintaining a safe distance. Had you maintained a safe distance, when a vehicle in front of you has to emergency brake, you can respond in time without evasive manuevers.

hahahaha knew that was coming.

 

[FordSVTFan]

yes i understand... should i write the cop a ticket? will it give me leverage as far as talkin to prosecutor? my game plan is writing him same ticket and duke it out in court...

If you do that, the prosecutor is likely to not talk to you at all. Also, most prosecutors will call the officer and ask about the infraction before agreeing to reduce it. Further, the judge will see it for what if is and will likely toss the ticket.

Just take photos of the area, your truck and draw at mock-up of what occured. Explain to the judge that you were maintaining the appropriate distance listed in the NJ CDL manual (48' plus 22' wheelbase = 70' = 7 seconds) and that the manual notes that it is better to go left than to mash the brakes.

You will still need to overcome your need for evasive manuever, as that is the essence of the charge.