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Failure to exercise care is actually the underpinning facet of many laws and regulations that govern driving behavior in NY.
The law assumes that drivers have a duty to exercise care not to harm others on the road, most specifically those who are not also in cars.
Failure to exercise care seeks to impose a sense of urgency on drivers about their responsibility toward pedestrians and bicyclists who share the road with them.
What is the Failure to Exercise Due Care Law?
The failure to exercise due care law in NY is actually named administrative code 19-190. This code is defined as the failure to exercise due care and thereby violates the right of way of pedestrians and cyclists.
This is a new statute that was drafted into law to protect foot and bicycle traffic on city streets. NY is a busy place full of mixed traffic on the roads at all times, and the Due Care Law is designed to protect those who are not in vehicles from significant harm.
What Are the Penalties for a Failure to Exercise Due Care Ticket in NY?
Under the failure to exercise care amendment, fines and penalties have been increased. If you cause harm to a pedestrian or a bicyclist, you will pay a fine that can be as much as $500. You might also spend 15 days in jail. Physical injury in these cases is defined as “impairment of physical condition or substantial pain.”
If a serious physical injury occurs, you can be fined $750 and spend 15 days in prison as well as being required to take a driver safety class. Your license may also be suspended. Serious physical harm is defined as an injury that causes death or serious and protracted disfigurement or loss of function of any bodily organ.
Will a Failure to Exercise Due Care Ticket Raise Your Insurance?
Traffic violations will generally increase your insurance premiums. Whether you have committed a basic traffic infraction or you got caught speeding expect to pay more. The amount that your premiums go up can be affected by your other driving offenses that are on record, as well as the insurance company that holds your policy.
Not every insurance company will continue to insure a driver who has a failure to exercise due care infraction on their record. You should reach out to your insurance if you have gotten this kind of ticket to see if you will be able to stay insured with that company.
Can You Plead Down Failure to Exercise Care Ticket in NY?
You can have your lawyer try to do this for you. The fines are so severe for this kind of driving infraction that it is well worth having your lawyer try to help you to plead down.
It can be a very difficult process to work for this kind of outcome on a failure to exercise care ticket, but being spared going to jail and a potential misdemeanor criminal record is well worth the expense of engaging a lawyer to help you plead your case.
What Happens if You Don’t Pay a Failure to Exercise Care Ticket in NY?
In NY, this counts as a default conviction. This means that you will have to pay the ticket and a surcharge as well as appear in court in most cases. This is not the kind of ticket that you want to neglect responding to or paying. Always consider getting a lawyer as soon as you have been given a failure to exercise care ticket to avoid jail time.
How to Fight a Failure to Exercise Care Ticket
WinIt offers an easy process that you can utilize to help you to fight your ticket.
1. Use our app to upload the ticket information
2. Our proprietary technology will help you choose the best lawyer for your ticket.
With Winit the process of finding a competent lawyer with the right experience is handled for you.
Failure to Exercise Care is a Serious Offense
This kind of ticket is a very serious driving offense that you cannot ignore. If you are scared that you will go to jail because you cannot defend yourself against a failure to exercise care ticket, let WinIt help you to avoid this kind of unfair outcome.
Driving mistakes happen, but if you can prove that you were not failing to exercise care and drive safely, WinIt can help you to have the ticket dismissed.