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Ticket or No Ticket?
Posted Tuesday, May 27, 2008, at 11:36 AM<< Previous | Read comments | Respond | Email link | Next >>
In 2007, the Dyersburg Police Department investigated 935 motor vehicle crashes. The number one location for motor vehicle accidents within the city limits is the intersection of Hwy. 51 By-Pass and Lake Road. Friday was the day of the week in which most accidents occurred in 2007. The Dyersburg Police Department has a traffic enforcement policy which states the following:
"Traffic law enforcement involves all police activities or operations which relate to observing, detecting, and preventing traffic law violations and taking appropriate action under the circumstances. Enforcement not only involves arrests and citations, it includes effective warnings to drivers and pedestrians which help prevent them from committing minor and unthinking violations. Traffic law compliance is promoted through the judicious use of verbal warnings in place of traffic citations or arrests. Traffic enforcement can be reactive to observed violations, at accidents, or in response to community concerns, or may be proactive, to effectively prevent traffic violations. Enforcement should be in proportion to traffic accidents with respect to time, place, and type of violation. However, overzealous enforcement without considering whether the violator is familiar with the legal requirements or without regard for the circumstances surrounding the violation causes disrespect for the law and poor relations between the department and the community it serves." Those that are involved in a motor vehicle accident (MVA) experience many inconveniences. First, you may have been injured and need medical treatment. Secondly, your vehicle may or may not be operable and must be repaired. Thirdly, you may have been involved in an accident with an uninsured motorist. If you and/or someone should be involved in a MVA and a party does not have insurance and/or a valid license, you will be issued a citation and/or go to jail. Other infractions such as failure to yield, not obeying a traffic control device, following to closely, etc... may not receive a citation. Officers have discretion when issuing citations. If an officer believes that he/she has enough probable cause to issue a traffic citation then he/she will do so. What are your comments regarding if you are involved in a MVA? Would you prefer that a citation is issued or not? Comments Showing comments in chronological order [Show most recent comments first] |
Lt. Mike Dobis is on the command staff of the Dyersburg Police Department.
Hot topics Greetings!(8 ~ 10:02 AM, Mar 7)
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Looky here now if my ingured dont yall be a tryin to git me ner ticky..and dont yall sent me to this horspital cuz i ain't real shore bout them their drs. now if n i aint hurt, and I needs a ticky, then giver to me... Keep up the bloggin this here is good ideer.
I like the fact that it is left to the officer's discretion, as long as there is not blatant disregard for the law. I see so many stupid things done while driving every day. Believe it or not, it's not just Dyersburg, it's everywhere. One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone sees you with your turn signal on trying to change lanes, and they speed up and get right beside you, not to pass, but just to prevent you from getting in the lane you need to be in. Another one is law enforcement, especially those from out of state, that run up and down the highway at 90 mph just because they can, while everyone else is expected to do the speed limit. I could go on and on but I realize I'm getting off topic here.
it seems ridiculous at the time... you're all confused from the impact, you don't really know if you're alright physically or not as you look at whats left of your car then you're given a ticket for whatever reason. 'thank you... sir' must be your lucky day, but i think in the long run the citations issued along with the accident report help the insurance companies or lawyers (if they wanna get scandalous) determine who is at fault so your car gets repaired or replaced quickly and you don't have to file chapter 13 because you can't pay the hospital. it would be terrible if the wrong person were found to be at fault because the officer who took the report couldn't find probable cause to issue a citation
The officer's are able to put in the accident who they believe to be at fault without issuing a citation. If I am wrong then someone correct me. As far as the insurance aspect goes... If you have insurance it does not matter if you were at fault or not. If you were at fault then your insurance will also be responsible for the other person involved, and vice versa. Of course your insurance premium's go up, but with gas prices as they are it might not be too long before there are not that many cars on the road anyway, lol.
i thought it was supposed to be that way too
I guess I am a bit old-fashioned, but I still respect the people who try to keep the peace around here. I know that each day they put their lives on the line with some of the duties they have to perform and I simply trust their judgement to do what is right, expedient, and fair to all concerned. So, the answer is, if they think a citation is warranted, then they will issue it.
bg
This is totally off topic but I wish, no I am BEGGING, some tickets be issued to the immature kids that sit on the parking lot of A1 Construction on Vendall Rd. Every night its like the drag races. I have even seen them line up side by side and race down the road. I live in that neighborhood and Im afraid that one day they are going to crash into my house. Not to mention that they wake my 5 month old daughter up on a daily basis. They play music so loud you can hear it at walmart and they throw things and cuss at passing motorist. PLEASE PLEASE do something about this. Someone is going to get hurt!!!
I believe that the policy is dead on. If you were to simply fail to yeild and cause an MVA, they you have enough to worry about than going to court for a ticket. However, if you are driving with a suspended license and are involved in an MVA then wether you caused the wreck or not you should be considered at fault. (You're suspended, you shouldn't be on the road anyway, had you not been driving then the MVA wouldn't have even occured)
I agree and disagree with TeamCGO
If a party to the traffic crash ADMITS fault, and this admission is documented in the traffic crash report, then there is no need for a citation unless the violation is a misdemeanor or felony offense.
On the other hand, if the party at fault refuses to accept responsibility, then IMO it is the officer's responsibility to investigate the cause of the accident and issue an appropriate citation.
Just because a driver is suspended does NOT make them automatically "at fault" in a traffic crash. The driver has, however, committed a criminal offense and should be arrested.
In case you can't tell from my post, I am a retired police commander (civil service rank..Lieutenant) from an out of state police department.
Now an off topic comment. I have been back home in Dyer County for about two years now and I must ask, when did turn signals and dimmer switches become optional equipment on Tennessee vehicles. Has the requirement for their use been deleted from the vehicle code? If I was a law enforcement officer here............