[mattski]

Well, tomorrow I am off to court to fight my traffic ticket. My strategy is as follows:

I will wear a suit and tie, be on my best behavior, and use respectful words like "officer, your honor, etc."

1. Try to get the officer to drop the charges before the actual court appearance. Point out the following facts and hope for the best.

2. Point out that the officer did not actually witness the accident so his opinion that the pass was "unsafe" was based on his 30 minute interview of the plow driver, and 5 minute interview with myself.

3. Plows actually direct drivers behind them on which side to pass. They have these huge arrows on the back pointing either left or right, depending which side they are plowing.

4. The plow driver violated a NY State Vehicle and Trafic law which states that U-turns must be performed from the lane closest to the median. The plow cut across the left lane to make the U-turn.

5. Although Emergency Vehicles are allowed to disregard some traffic laws such as "No U-Turn", they must not jeopardize other drivers and are not immune from liability when they cause hazards.

6. I used all reasonable care in this case. I had a vehicle designed and equipped for these conditions (AWD and 4 studded snow tires). My low beams and fog lights were on for added visiblity. I used my directionals and I passed on the left.

I looked up the V&T laws in NY state so I will be quoting the sections which apply.

I also received a bill last week from the NY Thruway Authority for $2100 of damage to the plow. The report that the driver submitted shows a diagram where my car veered into him and that he was injured. Both of these items are contradicted by the police report. I may use this discrepancy to put the plow driver's credibility in question.

Any other thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Matt