Traffic violation procedures
in Criminal and Misdemeanor Law ·
Here’s the situation:
I was out riding my scooter when I hit a pothole in the road. I wiped out, the scooter slid, and ended up hitting a car coming up behind me. Thankfully, the damage was just some scratches.
The report was filed on 9/21/2006.
The main hearing took place on 3/19/2008.
I finally got the decision on 4/10.
The verdict: guilty under Section 51, subsection 5, in connection with Section 294 of the Vehicle Code.
The fine was $167 (which is actually below the minimum required amount of $333).
$173 Plus court costs.
I'm putting together an appeal. Does this look okay to you guys?
I'm also a bit confused about where to send it. Should I send one copy to the Supreme Court of the United States and another to the municipal court, or...? I know I need two copies. I think I'll just drop it off at the local court.
Thanks!
Full Name
Address
Supreme Court of the United States
APPEAL
- regarding Decision number:I P –2344/06 Indianapolis, 03/19/2008.
The facts were incorrectly or incompletely established per Section 211 of the Zoning Ordinance.
Explanation:
The witness—a police officer—testified that he arrived at the scene of the accident and spoke with the parties involved. That isn't quite right. I was actually picked up by an ambulance and taken to the hospital for examination. It was there at the hospital that the officer came to talk to me, not at the crash site itself. Also, the police report feels incomplete because it fails to mention a commercial truck that was parked illegally right in the bend (see photo 1 for the curve). The witness claimed the road wasn't full of potholes, just "wavy" or uneven. I have to disagree; if you look at photos 2, 3, and 4, it is clearly a deep pothole, not just minor unevenness. Usually, when roads are just bumpy, there are warning signs so drivers can slow down, but there were absolutely no signs here. I also think it's worth mentioning that there have been numerous accidents at this exact spot before, and the Department of Public Works actually patched the hole just a few days after my accident. Furthermore, the photos of the moped weren't even taken properly. In the provided evidence, I want to point to photo 12, which shows the moped from the wrong side. Those shots don't show the actual damage to the scooter because I fell on the left side, not the right. Finally, the witness suggested I didn't adjust my speed for the road conditions. But I should note that I am a professional rider; I’ve owned and operated high-performance motorcycles for years and have never caused or been part of an accident before.
In my experience, speed had nothing to do with the fall. Honestly, no matter how slow you're going, if you hit a hole that size, the fork compression would yank the handlebars right out of your hands. Even the witness basically hinted at this by suggesting the police call it a "series of incidents," since I wasn't the only one to have an accident there that day. Just two days after my crash, I was driving home from work and saw an identical accident involving another scooter rider at the exact same spot—the police were there processing the scene too. This could probably be verified with the Indianapolis Police Department.
Because of all this, I really don't believe I'm at fault, and I'm asking that the verdict be overturned entirely.
Indianapolis, dated 04/14/2008.
I was out riding my scooter when I hit a pothole in the road. I wiped out, the scooter slid, and ended up hitting a car coming up behind me. Thankfully, the damage was just some scratches.
The report was filed on 9/21/2006.
The main hearing took place on 3/19/2008.
I finally got the decision on 4/10.
The verdict: guilty under Section 51, subsection 5, in connection with Section 294 of the Vehicle Code.
The fine was $167 (which is actually below the minimum required amount of $333).
$173 Plus court costs.
I'm putting together an appeal. Does this look okay to you guys?
I'm also a bit confused about where to send it. Should I send one copy to the Supreme Court of the United States and another to the municipal court, or...? I know I need two copies. I think I'll just drop it off at the local court.
Thanks!
Full Name
Address
Supreme Court of the United States
APPEAL
- regarding Decision number:I P –2344/06 Indianapolis, 03/19/2008.
The facts were incorrectly or incompletely established per Section 211 of the Zoning Ordinance.
Explanation:
The witness—a police officer—testified that he arrived at the scene of the accident and spoke with the parties involved. That isn't quite right. I was actually picked up by an ambulance and taken to the hospital for examination. It was there at the hospital that the officer came to talk to me, not at the crash site itself. Also, the police report feels incomplete because it fails to mention a commercial truck that was parked illegally right in the bend (see photo 1 for the curve). The witness claimed the road wasn't full of potholes, just "wavy" or uneven. I have to disagree; if you look at photos 2, 3, and 4, it is clearly a deep pothole, not just minor unevenness. Usually, when roads are just bumpy, there are warning signs so drivers can slow down, but there were absolutely no signs here. I also think it's worth mentioning that there have been numerous accidents at this exact spot before, and the Department of Public Works actually patched the hole just a few days after my accident. Furthermore, the photos of the moped weren't even taken properly. In the provided evidence, I want to point to photo 12, which shows the moped from the wrong side. Those shots don't show the actual damage to the scooter because I fell on the left side, not the right. Finally, the witness suggested I didn't adjust my speed for the road conditions. But I should note that I am a professional rider; I’ve owned and operated high-performance motorcycles for years and have never caused or been part of an accident before.
In my experience, speed had nothing to do with the fall. Honestly, no matter how slow you're going, if you hit a hole that size, the fork compression would yank the handlebars right out of your hands. Even the witness basically hinted at this by suggesting the police call it a "series of incidents," since I wasn't the only one to have an accident there that day. Just two days after my crash, I was driving home from work and saw an identical accident involving another scooter rider at the exact same spot—the police were there processing the scene too. This could probably be verified with the Indianapolis Police Department.
Because of all this, I really don't believe I'm at fault, and I'm asking that the verdict be overturned entirely.
Indianapolis, dated 04/14/2008.