He's right.

 

In general, two wrongs don't make a right...

 

I before E except after C, unless someone brake checks you, then you throw a beating.

 

Nope sorry in this case you're 100% wrong.....

Here's why.....first case you have a police officer as a witness, the police officer at the scene will determine an at fault party. In this he will list the s2000 as at fault, because of reckless driving. Once the police officer rules an at fault party 99% of the time the case is over.

Further compounding this case is the fact that he admitted to the officer that the reason he slammed on the brakes was because he wanted the other driver to back off. There is no 'rabbit' crossing the road in this case for you to claim for the reason for slamming on your brakes.

Finally if it went to court the testimony of the SUV driver would claim that he was driving along fine until the s2000 driver tapped his brakes twice for no reason causing him to come closer than he'd like. The s2000 then slammed on his brakes for no reason at all giving him no possibility to stop. At best, without a clear and convincing reason for the s2000 to stop, it will be declared mutual fault. Claiming that you braked hard to avoid a 'rabbit' will be seen through as and make your testimony questionable meaning that it is more likely that the judge will rule against you.

 

i just got off the phone with my lawyer he said that the officer is 100% (yes i said 100%) at fault. In new jersey tailgating is infact illegal. and as of sometime in July all NJ state troopers squad cars, and SUV's are fitted with a dahsmounted camera thats recording at all times. my lawyers getting a copy of the tape and will use it in my defense. police are here to serve and protect not dangerously tailgating a civilian car at 70+ miles per hour putting other pedestrians lives at stake. proper following distance is 1 car length for every 10mph, so that would make it 7 car lengths not .5!

 

I agree with both sides of the arguement. The officer should not have been tailgating. You as a citizen have the right to be upset that a cop was tailgating you because he was breaking the law--no questions about that. I get sicker every day because MOST cops think that they are above the law--and the fact is that they arent. Cops are supposed to enforce the law, not break them to make other people break them inorder to enforce the law.

But on the other hand, two wrongs dont make a right--you shouldn't have slammed on your breaks. That was careless.... But I would've told the cop that you had to slow down because you thought you saw something in the road and you were slowing down as a precaution.

I dont know what the laws are like in NJ, but I know in some states you can pull a citizen's arrest on a cop if they are doing something illegal....The problem is, I dont know who would have the balls to do this, and how you would come up with proof. But this is clearly a case where the cop was doing something illegal--which made you do something illegal. But the thing is, you'll get punished and he won't.

One of my fraternity brothers is a Police officer here in Raleigh, and he was telling me a story how he had just gotten off work and was driving home and he got pulled by another RPD for going 20 over the speed limit. When the cop came up to his window, the cop noticed that my fraternity brother was wearing his uniform still. All that happened was the cop said 'Hey man, sorry to pull you over--you should've given me a signal or something.' And that was that....No ticket or anything--and that is complete bull.

I agree completely with the above quote--next time do something not quite so illegal--because in reality, you both could've been killed no matter how right/wrong you are. And it is true that the way both of you were driving is a reason why people pay out the butt for insurance. Next time, what I would do is put on my hazard lights and slowly slow down to a complete stop. That way you will piss him off without doing something illegal. And if he pulls you over, just say that you think your car is having trouble. He might not believe you though since you drive a Honda--maybe a Chrysler though...

 

OK so you need to clarify here if you're saying that the cop was the SUV. Because honestly I don't believe that was the case and you'll llose credibility when it appears that you're claiming this......

This quote from your original post is why I don't believe the cop was the SUV

First off, if the cop was tailgating you, you would not have said that a "known traffic offender to stop following so closely". I highly doubt that you would have referred to the cop as such. In addition you wouldn't have tried to defend your actions saying "but it wasn't for no reason i was tapping my breaks because the person (emphasizing that it was) was following me too close which is also known as tailgating which is a 8 point ticket here in jerz." I believe you would have used the term 'you' or the 'cop' rather than using the term 'the person'.

IN all cases if the cop had been the one tailgating you then I believe that you would have been screaming at the top of your lungs about the cop that was tail-gating you not the other driver. In addition, if the cop was tailgating you, he would known how fast you were going and I belive would have given you a speeding ticket too since you were going 85.

 

someone wants to drive faster, get out of his way....

if guy in front of you is driving slower than you want to drive, wait to a safe point and pass him. tailgating/flashing lights just pisses some people off and makes them dig in their heels and NOT let you pass (hmmm... sound familiar?)

and i cannot fault NJ cops at the moment... coming back from Atlantic City last weekend came into a construction zone +25 from posted limit. right as i hit the start of the actual area i came off the gas, but was not too worried because there were no workers present. the officer was of the opinion that workers made no difference, the sign is the mandate and had me sit for awhile.

ticket at this point would have cost me about 6k a year for 3 years waiting for it to drop off for insurance purposes, so i was more than relieved when he came back over and scolded me for a few minutes and said the only reason he did not ticket was it would be about $400/6points. not sure if that was it, he was going off shift and taking it light on out of state driver, or just the plain fact that i did not argue with him....

anyway, too many crazy people on the road as it is, ket's not add to the madness by compounding someone else's bad driving manners with some of our own.

in any case, if not ticketted for sudden/unneeded braking, he could have also gotten you for speeding, right?

keith

 

ok.....first of all....like I said, cop, president or pope, it doesnt matter who says what, the rear driver is at fault. PERIOD!.

Second, good luck proving in court that the driver in front of you hit his brakes for no reason. He could have imagined something, and is justified to hit brakes. THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN SAY TO INCRIMINATE THE FRONT CAR!
Also, someone clarify something....the SUV was another car, and a cop car saw you....or the SUV was the cop???

One more thing.....

to all those who say he will get in trouble and the cop wont....

If he even has a half a$$ lawyer, he will walk away, win some money for distress, and get the cop fired.

Like others, I get nauseated by cops that think they are above the law. They run red lights to grab doughnuts, pull people over because they "feel" like it, talk to you like a prisoner, dont answer any questions you have....etc.....

I hate cops, and to all those saying "dont dial 911 then" I dont. Ive never had a cop help me when I needed them.

I was stuck IN THE MIDDLE OF A HIGHWAY once, an accident waiting to happen, and 4 cop cars passed by me and didnt even offer to help.

 

Now why would he do a dumb thing like that???