From: behanna@phoenix.syl.nj.nec.com (Chris BeHanna)
Subject: My day in Traffic Court
Followup-To: rec.motorcycles
Keywords: phew careful contest
Organization: NEC Systems Laboratory, Inc.
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 92 19:50:20 GMT

Folks,

	Today was the day that I was to prosecute the lady for careless
driving.  I sat in court from 9AM until 2PM when the case was finally
called.  I went up to the stand and was sworn in, then I testified how I'd
given a hand signal and then stopped to yield to oncoming traffic.  I
testified that I was stopped in the middle of the lane.  Now's the "lady's"
turn to cross-examine:

She:	"Do you consider motorcycles and riders to be more susceptible to
	accidents and damage than automobiles?"
Me:	"If other drivers are negligent and inattentive, then, yes,
	motorcycles and their riders are more susceptible to injury and
	damage."
She:	"Do you think that automobile drivers treat motorcycles with courtesy?"
Me:	"No."
She:	"Do you think that most motorcyclists operate their vehicles in a safe
	manner?"
Me:	"Yes, I think they do."
She:	"I'd like to ask what the purpose is of charging me with careless
	driving."
Judge:	"You can ask, but I don't know what kind of answer you'd get.  I would
	presume that it's for insurance purposes."
[Defendant repeats the question.]
Me:	"You hit me, and I would like to see on your record something to the
	effect that you were wrong."

[Now my witness takes the stand and is sworn in.  He testifies that he saw me
turning left and he saw the defendant hit me.]

[Defendant takes the stand.  She testifies how she's been employed for ten
years, how she's the mother of 4, and how she's never had an accident in 17
years of driving.  Then she lies and says that I was over by the shoulder
apparently turning right.  She says she was about to pass me when I suddenly
turned in front of her.  She changed her tune vs. what she told the officer
and says that she never saw my signal.  She states that she wasn't going to
file charges against *me* for *my irresponsible behavior*, and she's surprised
to be in court when the accident was caused by *my* irresponsibility!]

Now it's my turn to cross-examine.

Me:	"Are you aware of what the lane markings are in that location?"
She:	"There is a dashed yellow line."
Me:	"Are you aware that on your side of the road there is a _solid_ yellow
	line?"
She:	"I'm not going to argue that with you."
Me:	"Are you aware that it is illegal in New Jersey to pass in an
	intersection?"
She:	"As I said before, I'm not going to argue the law with you."
Me:	"In your experience, is it common for a person to come to a stop
	before the person makes a _right_ turn?"
She:	"It is common for people to pull over before turning right at that
	intersection so that other traffic can pass."
[I repeat my question.]
[She repeats her answer.]
[I repeat my question.]
[She repeats her answer.]
Me:	"Would you please answer my question as I stated:  Is it common for
	a person to come to a _stop_ before executing a right turn?"
She:	"No, it isn't."

I gave up at this point.  Fortunately, the judge questioned my witness again,
and upon learning that my witness was indeed someone I had not met before, and
upon learning that the witness states that I was in the middle of the lane,
the judge found the defendant guilty and advised her of her right to appeal.

The Moral of the Story:
	Folks, you damn well better have a witness, because the person who
hits you will remember the accident differently, or perhaps even lie.  Your
word against theirs isn't worth much.

	Now I just have to wait for the police report to finally be finished,
then I can get on with settling this whole business.

	Think about her cross-examination:  The questions she asked implied
that I deserved what I got because I was riding "one of those dangerous
motorcycles."  Pretty damn dangerous precedent could get set if that sort of
shit ever becomes successful as a defense.

	Why did I post this?  A) Satisfy your curiosity, if you had any.
B) So you know what you'll be up against when you go to court to try to make
charges stick against a cager who hits you.  Advice:  get a lawyer if you can
afford one.  It would have been terribly easy for the worm to turn the other
way on me here, even though it was apparent on July 8th where the liability
should have been placed.

	Flames to /dev/null.  This article was not meant as tinder.

Watch out!  They ARE out to get you!
-- 
Chris BeHanna		DoD# 114      1983 Harley-Davidson FXWG Wide Glide
behanna@syl.nj.nec.com	              1984 Dodge Omni GLH (well, almost)

Disclaimer:  Now why would NEC agree with any of this anyway?
Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles