my 1st ticket: following too closely (Knoxville, Columbia: insurance, legal, safe)

[argv]

Hi guys, I just relocated to Knoxville (in fact I just moved to the US) a few month ago. Tonight at about 8:30 pm, when I was following a car on Kingston pike westbound on the left lane, just about a mile to the east of the west town mall, the car stopped all of a sudden and my car bumped into its rear. The good news is nobody was hurt.

A police office came shortly and gave me a ticket for following too closely. Though I didn't agree, he convinced me that the right place to argue was at the court.

So I've decided to argue at the court. First I don't think I followed it "too closely", it was dark at night and it stopped all of a sudden and I pushed down on my brake pedal as hard as I could and I needed some time to respond. Second, it was only a slight crack on the car's rear bumper and my front bumper, which I believe could be an indication of the fact that I almost stopped my car (just needed a few more inches). Third, there's no direct evidence that I followed too close, and I wasn't speeding either (I was on the fast lane because I was about to make a left turn soon ahead, not because I wanted to go fast). There's a witness, but he had no clue what happened - he just heard a noise, looked up, and saw the collision.

I think my fault was not driving defensively enough - I failed to take into account the fact that people's response time in the night was usually longer than it was in the day. The other driver was a nice and polite lady; I didn't think it was her fault either. Some reckless jerk pulled over in front of her suddenly with no turn signal on, but unfortunately that guy was gone.

BTW, I know that there's a rule of thumb about safe following distance of about 2 seconds, but is there any legal and quantitive definition of how close is too close? And if my argument at the court should fail, what's the consequence?

I just came to the US and have no clue how the legal system runs here. Do you guys have any recommendations? Many thanks in advance.

[oldmanbob]

I handled claims for over 30 years, and anytime you overtake a vehicle from behind, its difficult to agrue, that you were not too close. By striking them in the rear, no matter how slight, then the officer's charge will probably hold up. I would probably pay the fine, and not spend your time in court, as you admitt you struck the car. Sorry, but do not think you will win.

[kamoshika]

Sorry to hear about your accident but pretty much every time you rear-end someone, you'll get cited for following too closely. It's highly unlikely your argument(s) in the courtroom will do you any good.

"...is there any legal and quantitive definition of how close is too close?"

The applicable Tennessee code states, "The driver of a motor vehicle shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of such vehicles and the traffic upon and the condition of the highway."

There's really no good way to quantify what's "reasonable and prudent," but a rear-end collision in itself is prima facie evidence that one was not following at a reasonable and prudent distance, at least in the law's eyes.

FWIW, the 2-second rule applies only to daytime driving under good conditions; at night, the rule of thumb is 4 seconds.

[charz]

The direct evidence that you were following too closely is that you hit the car because you didn't have time to stop. Sorry- don't think you'll win. I'm glad no one got hurt.

[Beretta]

I agree with the others. You won't win. This isn't a Knoxville thing either; you'll get this pretty much anywhere in the USA. Welcome to our country, Knoxville and the forum.

[Rickers]

I have to agree with the others, you were following to closely. I had a friend who did the same thing and the guy he hit pulled him out of his car and beat my friend up really bad right on the road side. You are lucky, just pay the fine and learn to keep a proper distance. It doesn't take much of a bump to do serious damage to a persons neck. Expect to see your insurance premiums go up because of this. I have been known to slam on my brakes when some jerk is tailgating me, for some odd reason there always seems to be a small animal crossing in front of me whenever a car is following too close. !

[LauraC]

When idiots tailgate and you are driving in the daytime, pull on your headlights. The guy who is tailgating will think you are braking and slam on his brakes...and you will keep going merrily on your way.

[argv]

Thank you guys so much for your advice! I was too frustrated last night. After a good night's sleep, I got up in a much more optimistic mode and realized that I was indeed very lucky - no one was hurt, the other driver was nice and polite, and I learned a very important lesson via a minor collision. I'll go ahead and pay the fine - at least I could save some time

LauraC, thanks for the great tip for handling tailgaters - I've been annoyed by too many of them even if I always go at proper speed limits.

[scarletneon]

wait, officers give tickets for accidents in knoxville? my mom has gotten hit on more than one occasion in Columbia and no ticket was ever issued to the person at fault. we always thought it was weird that the officers just dismiss things as "oh it was just an accident."

[TheShadow]

We have to take a safe driving course every year at my job. Eight hours with on the road practice too. They advocate a 4 second following distance when at highway speeds. It really ahs helped my driving, but people always change lanes into my lane because I leave such a big gap! Oh well just slow down and let the gap open up again.
Argv, I'm sorry you had a wreck but glad everyone is okay. If you can't stop in time to avoid the car in front you're either too close or going too fast. Sorry. Welcome to our country, I hope that , other than your ticket, you're enjoying your time here.