Did you unjustly get a traffic ticket after hitting an object?

Jul 16, 2018 | traffic violations

As a driver you may know that you have a duty to remain as safe behind the wheel as possible. You likely do your best to keep your focus on the road, get enough sleep before driving and never drink and drive. Of course, even your best driving behavior may not prevent you from being involved in a minor accident.

Just as you have duties while driving, you also have certain duties authorities expect you to address if an accident takes place. Of course, as you may have never experienced a car accident before or only one at a younger age, you may not fully understand your responsibilities in this type of situation. The possibility also exists that you may have fulfilled your duties only to have someone else claim that you did not.

Hitting an object

In certain scenarios, an accident could take place with no other individuals involved. For instance, you may have hit a parked car, mailbox, fence or other structure. In this type of situation, you may feel confused about what to do. If you did not suffer injuries in the incident, your first course of action should involve attempting to contact the owner of the vehicle or other property.

Some ways you could attempt to contact the owner would involve taking down the vehicle tag number and other useful information or leaving a note at the scene of the incident with your contact and identifying information. The latter option would give the property owner the chance to contact you about the incident in the event that you cannot contact him or her at the time of the accident.

Never just leave the scene

Even though no one was hurt in this type of incident, you still have a legal responsibility to address the accident. You may also be legally responsible for potentially providing compensation to the property owner for damages if authorities consider you at fault for the event. If you leave the scene, you could face a traffic ticket at a minimum or more serious legal consequences.

Of course, you may have done your due diligence, attempted to find the property owner and left your information, but someone may have claimed that you simply left the scene. In such a situation, you may still receive a ticket or face other allegations. Fortunately, you have the option of fighting this and any other traffic ticket you may receive. If you would like more information on your legal options, you may want to speak with an attorney.