My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Washington.
I was given a ticket for driving too fast for conditions towards the middle of February. It had been raining the whole morning and a bit foggy, but when I reached a point in the road, it had suddenly turned to ice. I was driving 60 mph in a 70 mph and was continuing to brake to slow down further in order to get behind another car in the other lane, because I was approaching an on-ramp where another car approaching the lane I was in. It was when I went to change lanes that I spun out of control, thankfully not hitting anyone and ending up on the left-hand side shoulder.
There were no other crashes, and I would have had no indication that the conditions had changed unless I got out and checked. I understand that by saying that I spun out I have admitted guilt to going too fast, but if I had gone any slower, I would have been a danger to traffic. I was already being tailgated. I also had my two siblings in the car (we were going to school) and no one was hurt, everyone was wearing their seat belts, I didn't hit any other car.
A cop showed up 10-15 minutes later. He did not see my "accident," and did not ask me any questions about what had happened. He did not ask me how fast I was going, either. He just asked if anyone was coming to help me, to which I replied my mother (I had already called her to ask for help). Anyways, he cleared a lane of traffic for me, but then signaled for me to pull over again, after this he gave me a ticket for going too fast for conditions and said he would have to report it as an accident. I read the state manual for reporting accidents, and my incident did not fit into any of the categories. I believe I was not going too fast for conditions as I had no way of knowing that the conditions had so suddenly changed. There were people going way faster than me, and there were also way worse accidents after I had my incident.
I have already mailed my ticket for contesting in court, because my family (my mother and I) cannot pay for the ticket. I don't know how to proceed. If we can't afford to pay the $136 as a ticket, we certainly can't afford an attorney. I also have no idea how to represent myself in court. Any help or advice would be appreciated.
I was given a ticket for driving too fast for conditions towards the middle of February. It had been raining the whole morning and a bit foggy, but when I reached a point in the road, it had suddenly turned to ice. I was driving 60 mph in a 70 mph and was continuing to brake to slow down further in order to get behind another car in the other lane, because I was approaching an on-ramp where another car approaching the lane I was in. It was when I went to change lanes that I spun out of control, thankfully not hitting anyone and ending up on the left-hand side shoulder.
There were no other crashes, and I would have had no indication that the conditions had changed unless I got out and checked. I understand that by saying that I spun out I have admitted guilt to going too fast, but if I had gone any slower, I would have been a danger to traffic. I was already being tailgated. I also had my two siblings in the car (we were going to school) and no one was hurt, everyone was wearing their seat belts, I didn't hit any other car.
A cop showed up 10-15 minutes later. He did not see my "accident," and did not ask me any questions about what had happened. He did not ask me how fast I was going, either. He just asked if anyone was coming to help me, to which I replied my mother (I had already called her to ask for help). Anyways, he cleared a lane of traffic for me, but then signaled for me to pull over again, after this he gave me a ticket for going too fast for conditions and said he would have to report it as an accident. I read the state manual for reporting accidents, and my incident did not fit into any of the categories. I believe I was not going too fast for conditions as I had no way of knowing that the conditions had so suddenly changed. There were people going way faster than me, and there were also way worse accidents after I had my incident.
I have already mailed my ticket for contesting in court, because my family (my mother and I) cannot pay for the ticket. I don't know how to proceed. If we can't afford to pay the $136 as a ticket, we certainly can't afford an attorney. I also have no idea how to represent myself in court. Any help or advice would be appreciated.
Speeding Tickets: Driving "Too Fast for Conditions" on I-90
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