I was in an accident in Garner NC. I was traveling on Hammond Rd towards Garner, was underneath the overpass which is dark and then the sun was glaring in my eyes 20/30ft under the overpass, blinding me, as I was coming out of the underpass where the sun was the worst and I then collided with a stopped car but did not have time to react bc of temp blindness. The cop gave me a ticket for failure to operate a motor vehicle on a street or highway with out decreasing speed as necessary to avoid colliding with a vehicle. I was wondering if you can help me with this citation/and insurance claim.
Easy peasy. The bad news first. Even if you say the sun blinded you, the cop will still give you a ticket for failing to reduce speed. The thought being that weather conditions and lighting are the driver’s problem. The good news is that if you can show up to court with a letter from your insurance company saying they paid all the other guy’s damages, the DA will simply dismiss it. This is true in Wake co NC (where I practice) and pretty much every jurisdiction in NC as well. Whether that trick works in other places in the US I cannot say for sure. Just visit your insurance agent to get a copy of the letter (they call it a “court letter”). Don’t pay a lawyer to do this unless you simply don’t want to or cannot go to court yourself!
