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[avikar76]

I was driving into a privatly owned car shop to pick up a car. i was to close to one of the vehicles parked on the side of the fence in the lot so i put my vehicle in reverse and honked my horn waited, looked over my shoulder and proceeded to back slowly. i felt a nudge and got out and hit a sheriff who was "pulling me over for expired trailer tags (the truck was from kentucky and we dont have trailer tags so his ticket was thrown out) but there were no lights on, no sirens to signal that he was conducting a traffic stop. so a state police office shows up and issues me a ticket for improper backing code nc g.s 20-154(a). my thing is i know its a cop that got hit so they want to save face, but this cop was to close behind me either way and was hidden by the car that i almost hit. when i hit the horn he should have did something to tell me he was back there. so do i go into court and ask to see tapes? he said he had the whole thing on camera and i would need a lawyer to see the tapes. also isnt there a law in North Carolina about private property auto accidents?

[alleyne]

You probably don't. At least not successfully.

If he was stopped, then you aren't allowed to back into him. It is 100% your duty and responsibility to make certain the area behind you is clear. It wouldn't have mattered if it was a private vehicle - so there was no requirement that he have his lights or sirens on. And hitting the horn before you back up doesn't create any kind of an obligation to the people behind you to get out of the way.

Private property collisions are generally not reportable (meaning, the police don't have to get involved) if there is minimal or no damage. This doesn't mean the police can't investigate and can't issue citations.

You're actually very lucky the ticket over trailer tags was tossed out. If you were in my state, the ticket would have been valid because drivers are required to comply with our traffic codes when they come here.

[teithi71]

You don't. If you back into a stopped vehicle, it is your fault. No if's, and's or but's, it's just 100% your fault.

If you don't have a clear view behind, you get out and check, or have someone 'spot' for you. That you honked your horn is irrelevant. It is NOT his duty to get out of the way, it's YOUR duty not to back into him.

Yes, there is law in NC about accidents on private property - it says that you are just as liable as you would be on the street.

Richard

[crom]

Give Artemis 10 points

[burt]

You were moving and he wasn't. You didn't ensure that the area you were backing into was clear, so the accident is your fault. Providing he was in a legal place, then he has no obligation to warn you that you are improperly backing. If he was parked, he may not have been even looking at you.

Since you were on private property, he didn't need to have his lights on and you wouldn't have seen them anyway - if you couldn't see the car, you wouldn't have seen the lights either.

I don't think you are going to win this one. I also don't believe you need a lawyer to see the video. There should be a method of getting the video through the court. But what are you going to see from his dash? You are going to see a trailer backing up and hitting his car!

The Highway Patrol officer who wrote the ticket will have to appear in court. You might 'win' if he doesn't show.

[lorimar]

You should not be driving! Do you seriously think you should not be responsible for backing into someone?

It doesn't matter who it was, and they are not just trying to "save face." What if it was a kid? What if it was my grandmother?

North Carolina DOES require tags on trailers.