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A DRIVER is frustrated after he was unrightfully docked by his insurance for multiple outstanding road citations that weren’t his.
Michael A. Rodriguez was listed as someone who got three traffic tickets in Pennington, New Jersey but he lived in Newport News, Virginia.
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Confusingly enough, the person who actually did the penalties for the citations had the same name as him, local NBC affiliate WAVY reported.
Rodriguez said he had never even gone to New Jersey before.
He felt stuck in the situation, unable to get any answers as to how the mistake that cost him his cash, his time and his peace of mind was made.
Unfortunately, the mixed-up information on who was who did get to his car insurance company.
The problem made his car insurance rates have increased by about $300 each year.
It all had to do with an issue in the local law enforcement’s record system.
“Ultimately, after several calls, it was finally revealed that the bodycam footage from that night has been deleted,” Rodriguez slammed.
“It’s just an insane situation in this day and age.”
While police records had to do with the mix-up, the officer’s bodycam video is also a part of the agency’s system that could’ve helped keep the major problem from happening.
The three tickets were for speeding 39 mph in a 25 mph zone with no valid license and no license present.
Because of the lack of a license on the speedster, there was no picture to compare with the Michael Rodriguez of Newport News.
The tickets had the penalizing vehicle listed as a 2018 Gray Honda.
That being said, Rodriguez drives a blue Nissa.
Additionally, the home address shows that the tickets were to be issued to a driver from Central Philadelphia which is about an hour from Pennington, New Jersey.
How to fight a speeding ticket
According to a legally reviewed post, there are five effective strategies to fighting a speeding ticket if it was wrongfully issued.
- If pulled over and issued a ticket, drivers can argue or dispute a driver’s personal opinion. When issuing a speeding ticket, an officer is required to write their opinion and come to an “objective” conclusion. If the ticket was written based on that judgment, it can be contested. An example would be if you were going 75 mph in a 65 mph zone because others were traveling at the same speed, you could argue that it would be more dangerous to travel at 65 mph.
- You can dispute the officer’s presentation of evidence. If you were ticketed for something like running a stop sign or making an illegal u-turn, you can’t contest that if an officer saw you, but you can call things into court like eyewitnesses, diagrams, or photos.
- Argue that the ticket was issued by a “mistake of fact.” This is tricky, but a “mistake of fact” is a mistake made by a driver about a situation that was beyond their control, or if a driver legitimately did not know they were violating the law. For example, you were driving in two lanes because the lane markers were so worn down that you could not see them.
- You could say circumstances justified your driving. You could say you were speeding to pass a possibly drunk driver, or avoiding an accident by rapidly changing lanes. However, the argument won’t work if there’s proof you continued to speed after passing.
- Similar to the above, it could be argued that speeding was necessary to avoid harm. The key is to argue that if you weren’t speeding, you or someone else could have been harmed.
- Consult a traffic attorney, if all else fails. Many have free consultations to decide whether or not there’s a case.
Source: FindLaw
BE CAREFUL!
Many accidents can be made, even by claimants themselves, when it comes to car insurance that could cost any driver.
Because of this, a major traffic attorney has warned drivers that a simple insurance mistake could cost them thousands.
Adam Rosenblum is a veteran who spoke exclusively with The U.S. Sun about the hazards of choosing insufficient car coverage.
He said drivers have to pay the price when the worst happens.
Rosenblum explained that there’s a “dirty secret New Jersey car insurance sellers don’t want you to know about.”
The attorney added that the secret has to do with the difference between limited and full-tort insurance.
