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Stupid Citations of the Week

By TChris, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Fri Nov 17, 2006 at 10:17:20 AM EST
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Donald Davis lost his legs 21 years ago after a man robbed him and left him on railroad tracks, where he was hit by a train. He gets around on his motorized wheelchair. At least, he did until September, when he was hit by a car.

"She didn't have her lights on or I would have seen her," he said. "She backed into me, hit my chair and flipped me over. I hurt my head."

Davis disagrees with the police report, which says his wheelchair was undamaged. The officer apparently didn't see the bent wheel. He also disagrees with the two citations he received: one for failing to display a light on his wheelchair, and one for failing to sign the first citation.

An ambulance took Davis to a hospital after the accident. He doesn't recall being asked to sign the citation.

"I woke up and had my wallet and two tickets laying on my chest," he said.

Davis entered a not guilty plea to the charge of failing to sign the ticket. Davis paid the ticket for failing to display a light, but his lawyer wishes he hadn't. Whether any law requires a motorized wheelchair to display a light at night is unclear.

[T]he Bradenton Police Department's traffic division did not return a phone call regarding information about the wheelchair light law or how many people have been cited in the past for not having a light on a wheelchair.
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    Stupid Citations of the Week | 8 comments (8 topical)

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    It's hard enough getting around (4.00 / 1) (#3)
    by aw on Fri Nov 17, 2006 at 10:37:25 AM EST
    when you're handicapped or impaired.  I have a severe hearing loss and you just have to be on alert all the time.  It can be exhausting.  When I walk through parking lots, I have to keep my eyes on the drivers seats of all the cars to see if there might be somebody about to back out.  When I walk the dog, I have to constantly swivel my head to see if a car is coming.  I do have a little ear-with-slash on my drivers license, so hopefully, I will avoid being tasered for not listening if a cop pulls me over.

    Just trying to help raise awareness...

    This reminds me (3.00 / 1) (#5)
    by aw on Fri Nov 17, 2006 at 11:55:05 AM EST
    of the night I saw the cops in my town escort a local man home by driving behind his wheelchair with lights flashing, at about five mph, with a line of cars behind them.  When they got to his house, the cop jumped out of his car to open the door and help the man in.  I thought that was neat.

    Lack of common (none / 0) (#1)
    by kdog on Fri Nov 17, 2006 at 10:24:28 AM EST
    sense...again.  Times are tough when the fuzz won't even cut the handicapped a break...jeez.

    wake up....here's your ticket (none / 0) (#2)
    by peacrevol on Fri Nov 17, 2006 at 10:30:35 AM EST
    how you gonna leave a ticket on the chest of an unconcious handicapped man who just got hit by a car? that's jacked up. i bet that cop takes candy from babies, races one legged fifth graders, and plays darts with the vision impaired.

    I hate to be the one to say it... (none / 0) (#4)
    by Gabriel Malor on Fri Nov 17, 2006 at 10:53:41 AM EST
    ...but, the one thing that article is missing is, well, balanced reporting. It appears the writer tried to contact the police but couldn't get any information. So, the article is interesting and should have been published, but all who read it should know that it is one-sided.

    Let's wait and see what happens. That'll be much more likely to bring out what really happened.

    This is despite the legal presumption... (none / 0) (#6)
    by Bill Arnett on Fri Nov 17, 2006 at 02:33:17 PM EST
    ...that if you are backing up and strike something, you are at fault.

    The courts don't care if you have to hire a spotter to assist you in backing up safely because it is the responsibility of the driver to be POSITIVE that it is safe to back up at that moment.

    This is a thoroughly stupid position for the P.D. to have taken. Would an "unlighted" child struck by a car backing up be at fault?

    What a beautiful anecdote, aw. It's a shame there aren't more cops left like this.

    Not to mention..... (3.00 / 1) (#7)
    by kdog on Fri Nov 17, 2006 at 03:05:38 PM EST
    the way I was taught to drive was that the pedestrian always has the right of way...always, since the pedestrian isn't wrapped in a ton of metal and plastic.

    Parent
    Not necessarily (none / 0) (#8)
    by roy on Fri Nov 17, 2006 at 03:13:08 PM EST
    Reading between the lines, there appears to be some dispute over whether the car was backing up.  If Davis ran into the back of a car that wasn't moving, then it's his fault.

    'course, even if it was his fault, leaving a couple tickets on his chest at the hospital wasn't necessarily the right way to handle the legalities.

    Parent

    Stupid Citations of the Week | 8 comments (8 topical)

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