Impersonating A Police Officer...PLEASE HELP!!

[Dale12]

PLEASE HELP!
I had a question on what would happen when I go to court. Today I got into a car accident. I told the State Trooper exactly what happened: I pulled my car over to the side because my break pad was shaking (I pulled over in an area that is was a No U-Turn area). All of sudden my accelerator jumped and I pretty much lost control of my car. I had a strobelight box in my car and put it in the windshield so people would move out of the way because I did not have control of the car and the only thought going through my head was "get off the highway". So I tried to exit and the breaks locked up and me. I over shot the exit ramp and ran into a light pole. I knocked the whole thing over. The Trooper wrote me three tickets for: 1. Excess of speed (he didn't witness me speeding, he went off what a witness said), 2. Moving from the left lane unsafely, and the third one was about the lightbox. I wanted to know what might a judge do. I am 18, with no priors, aspiring to be an Officer one day. I am nervous.

[Citicop]

PLEASE HELP!
I had a question on what would happen when I go to court. Today I got into a car accident. I told the State Trooper exactly what happened: I pulled my car over to the side because my break pad was shaking (I pulled over in an area that is was a No U-Turn area). All of sudden my accelerator jumped and I pretty much lost control of my car. I had a strobelight box in my car and put it in the windshield so people would move out of the way because I did not have control of the car and the only thought going through my head was "get off the highway". So I tried to exit and the breaks locked up and me. I over shot the exit ramp and ran into a light pole. I knocked the whole thing over. The Trooper wrote me three tickets for: 1. Excess of speed (he didn't witness me speeding, he went off what a witness said), 2. Moving from the left lane unsafely, and the third one was about the lightbox. I wanted to know what might a judge do. I am 18, with no priors, aspiring to be an Officer one day. I am nervous.

Welcome to the forum.

I think you'll probably be okay in the long run. Get a mechanic to look at your car and then bring him into court to testify to any mechanical difficulties you may have encountered. That will help.

Provided that the rest of your driving record is good, this should not really hamper you in your efforts to get hired.

-Citicop.

[Samuel]

PLEASE HELP!
I had a question on what would happen when I go to court. Today I got into a car accident. I told the State Trooper exactly what happened: I pulled my car over to the side because my break pad was shaking (I pulled over in an area that is was a No U-Turn area). All of sudden my accelerator jumped and I pretty much lost control of my car. I had a strobelight box in my car and put it in the windshield so people would move out of the way because I did not have control of the car and the only thought going through my head was "get off the highway". So I tried to exit and the breaks locked up and me. I over shot the exit ramp and ran into a light pole. I knocked the whole thing over. The Trooper wrote me three tickets for: 1. Excess of speed (he didn't witness me speeding, he went off what a witness said), 2. Moving from the left lane unsafely, and the third one was about the lightbox. I wanted to know what might a judge do. I am 18, with no priors, aspiring to be an Officer one day. I am nervous.

Your story doesn't fly with me - for a few reasons. You might want to work on explaining it better before you go to court. Also "strobelight box" isn't a useful description - either describe it fully, or give a brand/model, and/or show a picture.

[Dale12]

Welcome to the forum.

I think you'll probably be okay in the long run. Get a mechanic to look at your car and then bring him into court to testify to any mechanical difficulties you may have encountered. That will help.

Provided that the rest of your driving record is good, this should not really hamper you in your efforts to get hired.

-Citicop.

P.S. I cannot for the life of me see what the content of this thread has to do with the title "Impersonating a Police Officer." Any explanation, RP?

This is my third car accident in 6 months. The first time I fell asleep at the wheel, the second I ran into the back of a disabled vehicle. If the mechanic says there was no fault with the car, what will happen? I looked online to see if the accelator jumping everhappened to anyone else and I couldn't find anything. I drive....well drove a '08 Dodge Charger and it the color of State Trooper vehicles.

[Dale12]

Your story doesn't fly with me - for a few reasons. You might want to work on explaining it better before you go to court. Also "strobelight box" isn't a useful description - either describe it fully, or give a brand/model, and/or show a picture.

What do you mean it doesn't fly with you? and It was a black strobe light box that we used last year for Halloween. It was by my foot in the car.

[Samuel]

What do you mean it doesn't fly with you? and It was a black strobe light box that we used last year for Halloween. It was by my foot in the car.

"Doesn't fly with me" means it doesn't make sense to me and/or sounds like BS... "black strobe light box that we used last year for halloween" still doesn't explain much at all - is it AC powered or DC/cigarette lighter adapter powered (is it meant for use at home or in a vehicle), how big is it, what color(s) does it emit, what is it's primary use, what brand/model is it, ETC. Also - what Exactly is the "color of state trooper vehicles"?

[retdetsgt]

I have never heard of a car's accelerator suddenly "jumping" and forcing the car to speed away from a stop. it's pretty much mechanically impossible. There are rare instances of them sticking after being floored, yes, but not taking off like that. Was your ignition key stuck too?

Good luck finding a mechanic that will verify that or a judge that will believe it.

Your story sounds like something I would have made up when I was 18 too.

[Citicop]

Now that I have more closely examined your story, I have to say that it doesn't fly with me either.

Your accelerator stuck and you 'immediately lost control', and your first instinct is not to fight to regain control of the car, it's not to brake or shift into neutral, and it's not to hit the emergency brake.

No.

Your first instinct is to reach down to the floorboard where you have a dashboard mounted strobe light you "had leftover from last Halloween" (never had a Halloween costume that required mounting things inside a vehicle.) and put it into the window so people could "get out of your way."

Given the option between that and "I was screwing around and driving too fast with a stupid prop in my car when I lost control and hit a pole," the second one seems to make WAY more sense to me.

[Dale12]

"Doesn't fly with me" means it doesn't make sense to me and/or sounds like BS... "black strobe light box that we used last year for halloween" still doesn't explain much at all - is it AC powered or DC/cigarette lighter adapter powered (is it meant for use at home or in a vehicle), how big is it, what color(s) does it emit, what is it's primary use, what brand/model is it, ETC. Also - what Exactly is the "color of state trooper vehicles"?

Officer, I know what doesn't fly with you means. You said there were a few reasons. I was inquiring as to what they were.

The strobe is black, 5 inches in length and about 3 inches wide. It is powered by 2 AA batteries and its and LED light that emits a white color. It was a halloween prop.

In New York State, State Trooper vehicles are Navy Blue in color. The color of my car matched the same color of the State Trooper vehicles.

[Dale12]

Now that I have more closely examined your story, I have to say that it doesn't fly with me either.

Your accelerator stuck and you 'immediately lost control', and your first instinct is not to fight to regain control of the car, it's not to brake or shift into neutral, and it's not to hit the emergency brake.

No.

Your first instinct is to reach down to the floorboard where you have a dashboard mounted strobe light you "had leftover from last Halloween" (never had a Halloween costume that required mounting things inside a vehicle.) and put it into the window so people could "get out of your way.

Given the option between that and "I was screwing around and driving too fast with a stupid prop in my car when I lost control and hit a pole," the second one seems to make WAY more sense to me.

I do not have a mounted strobe light and I did not think to use the emergency brake or anything. I did not know what to do. The only thing I was thinking about was getting off the highway. I was not attempting to drive fast because it was raining.

[Dale12]

I have never heard of a car's accelerator suddenly "jumping" and forcing the car to speed away from a stop. it's pretty much mechanically impossible. There are rare instances of them sticking after being floored, yes, but not taking off like that. Was your ignition key stuck too?

Good luck finding a mechanic that will verify that or a judge that will believe it.

Your story sounds like something I would have made up when I was 18 too.

Nothing about my story is made up. It is what happened.

[GoDirectly2Jail]

PLEASE HELP!
I had a question on what would happen when I go to court. Today I got into a car accident. I told the State Trooper exactly what happened: I pulled my car over to the side because my break pad was shaking (I pulled over in an area that is was a No U-Turn area). All of sudden my accelerator jumped and I pretty much lost control of my car. I had a strobelight box in my car and put it in the windshield so people would move out of the way because I did not have control of the car and the only thought going through my head was "get off the highway". So I tried to exit and the breaks locked up and me. I over shot the exit ramp and ran into a light pole. I knocked the whole thing over. The Trooper wrote me three tickets for: 1. Excess of speed (he didn't witness me speeding, he went off what a witness said), 2. Moving from the left lane unsafely, and the third one was about the lightbox. I wanted to know what might a judge do. I am 18, with no priors, aspiring to be an Officer one day. I am nervous.

The only question I see in your post is, "What would happen when I go to court."

The answer is that your case will be called, and your charges will be read, and you will be given the opportunity to plead guilty or not guilty and to tell your story. The officer will give his version of events and the judge will make a decision on each of your three charges, and based upon that, you will either have to pay fines and court costs, lose your license or have it restricted in some way, or perhaps face probation or even jail time (depending on the exact charges), or you will walk out of court scot free without paying a dime, or some combination thereof.

[Citicop]

No one is saying you are lying. We weren't there, so we don't know for sure what happened.

What we are saying is that the story as you are presenting it does not sound as plausible as other explanations for the same set of facts.

Occam's Razor, and all.

[Dale12]

The only question I see in your post is, "What would happen when I go to court."

The answer is that your case will be called, and your charges will be read, and you will be given the opportunity to plead guilty or not guilty and to tell your story. The officer will give his version of events and the judge will make a decision on each of your three charges, and based upon that, you will either have to pay fines and court costs, lose your license or have it restricted in some way, or perhaps face probation or even jail time (depending on the exact charges), or you will walk out of court scot free without paying a dime, or some combination thereof.

Eventhough I do not have a prior record, I would still be eligible for jail time in this circumstance?

[Dale12]

If I am found guilty of impersonating a police officer, what could happen? Please.... =/