Car swerves to miss falling couch, crashes; driver ticketed

Robert59

Robert59

Well-known Member
Location
Now I live in Tennesee. Did live in Michigan.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A couple driving home from Florida flipped and wrecked their car while swerving to avoid a couch that fell off a truck. And though both escaped serious injury, there was no avoiding a $166 traffic ticket dropped off at the hospital where they were treated.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/car-swerves-miss-falling-couch-202025776.html
 

That's an offense that requires probable cause to charge, the trooper will not be able to establish it, especially if the defendant has an attorney.
 

"A Florida Highway Patrol spokesman, Lt. Yanko Reyes, told the newspaper that while it's a tough break for the couple, troopers have discretion when issuing traffic citations."

Yeah...."Troopers have discretion." They just don't have brains.
 
win231 said:
"A Florida Highway Patrol spokesman, Lt. Yanko Reyes, told the newspaper that while it's a tough break for the couple, troopers have discretion when issuing traffic citations."

Yeah...."Troopers have discretion." They just don't have brains.
Click to expand...

Discretion to issue a ticket is not the same as issuing one without PC, which here I do not believe the trooper can establish?
 
Good grief, what was the offense listed on the citation? Swerving to avoid a falling couch? Another news story that sounds like it was a
SNL routine!

(I do think the driver of the truck deserved a citation, however. He was the one responsible.)
 
What about the vehicle the couch fell off of? In Texas you can't just stack junk on your truck and drive away like the Beverly Hillbillies.
 
Sunny said:
(I do think the driver of the truck deserved a citation, however. He was the one responsible.)
Click to expand...
In the UK it would have been the truck driver who would face prosecution. The charge being an insecure load. Had the couch struck the car what charge would the Trooper have dreamt up for that?
 
Well, how do you drive "defensively" when someone throws a couch on you. And you get a ticket. That story reminds me of an incident when i was a nurse at the psych hospital. Nonviolent patients were allowed to go for walks around the institution. Kevin went on a walk. His route took him by an ATM booth. You had to park, get out of your car and shut the door of a tiny room with the ATM machine. Unfortunately, Doug, stopped to get some cash. He left his car running and entered the booth. Along came Kevin, who saw a free car. He hopped in and attempted to drive away. Kevin didn't know how to drive a car. He sideswiped about six cars, before smashing into one. The cops came. Kevin had an air tight legal defense-he was a psychiatric patient. But Doug on the other hand, was given a ticket for leaving his vehicle unattended. Plus his car insurance company, refused to pay for the damage to the other seven cars, since Doug was blamed for causing it.
The moral of my little story is that life is unfair, and stupid stuff is going to happen.
 
There should have been signs warning to watch for falling couches. o_O

There are signs for der and pedestrian crossing, why not falling couches?

Tony
 
Robert59 said:
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A couple driving home from Florida flipped and wrecked their car while swerving to avoid a couch that fell off a truck. And though both escaped serious injury, there was no avoiding a $166 traffic ticket dropped off at the hospital where they were treated.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/car-swerves-miss-falling-couch-202025776.html
Click to expand...
Wrecked car.
Trip to the hospital.
Traffic ticket.
Guess it just wasn't their day. ☹️

🤬
 

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