Roundabout Hell

On June 11 I was involved in a minor non-injury accident in a two-lane roundabout. Below is what I reported to the state trooper:

Traveling east on Pole Road, I approached the two-lane roundabout on Pole Road and Guide Meridian. My intention was to enter the roundabout when safe and proceed to the inside lane and exit going North on Guide Meridian. As I reached the roundabout entrance I looked to the left and noticed a vehicle entering the roundabout going Southbound on Guide Meridian. I came to a complete stop. After the vehicle passed, I again looked to the left and right, and then left again (my common practice) and there were no vehicles in or entering the roundabout. I entered the roundabout. I was still partially in the outside lane when a vehicle came around the corner in the left inside lane at a high rate of speed (for a roundabout). I attempted to pull over to the right, but had no time to completely avoid impact. The driver of the other vehicle did not decrease their speed. The other vehicle skimmed the left front (driver) side of my vehicle and then accelerated out of the roundabout, driving southbound on Guide Meridian. I was still able to drive.

The officer said that he was required to find someone at fault, so he cited me for entering the roundabout when it was unsafe, as another vehicle was already there. He said that he didn’t like giving out these sort of tickets, and that he thought that if I contested it, that it could be dismissed.  He did not write a police report (he did not witness the incident, and there weren’t any witnesses).  My mitigating issues had to do with thick vegetation in the center of the roundabout that obstructed visibility and the speed and unsafe lane change made by the driver of the other vehicle. The driver also did not pull over after the accident. I was conflicted because it wasn’t clear to me that I had actually broken a law.

My Ticket Choices

On the ticket, I was offered three choices:

1. Pay the fine. The infraction would be reported to my insurance carrier.
2. Admit I had committed the infraction but there were mitigating circumstances. Request a hearing at mitigation court. The judge could decrease the fine but the infraction would be reported to my insurance carrier.  I could also  be offered a chance to defer for a year and if I didn’t commit another moving violation during that time the fine would be dropped and the infraction would not be reported to my insurance carrier.
3. Contest the ticket; however, if I lost I would pay the full fine and wouldn’t be offered the deferment. It would be reported to my insurance carrier.

Since I felt there was doubt that I had been at fault, and since we were totally unfamiliar with how things like this worked in Washington, I decided to go for choice 2. A mitigation hearing was scheduled for August 1.

Mitigating Circumstances

Below were the mitigating circumstances that I presented at the hearing:

• There is heavy vegetation in the center of that roundabout that interferes with visibility, particularly when driving eastbound or westbound on Pole Road. Both my vehicle and the other vehicle involved in the accident were low-profile vehicles.
• The posted speed limit for the roundabout is 15 miles per hour. I estimate that my speed was 8-10 miles per hour at the time of impact. The rate of speed of the other vehicle meant that the turn couldn’t be negotiated without the vehicle swerving into the outside lane. This was why I was unable to completely avoid impact. I estimate the speed of the other vehicle to be well over 15 miles an hour. The other vehicle also did not decrease their speed, assuming that the driver saw me after turning the corner.
• After impact, the driver of the other vehicle accelerated out of the roundabout driving south on Guide Meridian. I chose to also exit the roundabout driving south on Guide Meridian, assuming that the driver would pull over to allow us to exchange information. However, it appeared as if the driver of the vehicle was not going to pull over. Therefore I followed the vehicle to its destination, which was approximately 4.2 miles. (In retrospect, this was a hazardous and possibly risky action because I had no idea at the time what could be waiting for me once the driver stopped. I realize now that my safety could have been in jeopardy). While following the driver, using my voice-activated wireless I called 911 and reported the incident. The dispatcher stayed on the line with me until I arrived at the destination. I waited at the other vehicle’s destination for the state trooper to arrive. He took statements from each of us.I asked the officer about the driver not pulling over after the incident, which I knew to be a hit and run violation, and which forced me to follow the vehicle for quite a distance. He said that the driver of the other vehicle also called 911, but because she needed an interpreter and one wasn’t available, it wasn’t viewed as a hit and run violation. I find this to be perplexing since the officer took into account this mitigating circumstance and did not consider my mitigating circumstances.

Since the incident occurred, while traveling on Guide Meridian I have observed this roundabout from all directions and have seen traffic both entering and exiting (cautiously) from Pole Road, and on occasion there are vehicles in the roundabout when another vehicle enters. I believe this is because of the poor visibility issue. From what I could see, the vehicles were able to avoid incidents because they were able to slow down and stay in their lane. I believe this was because of cautious and lawful driving, as the speed of these vehicles was at or below the limit of 15 miles per hour.

When there is a need for me to travel east or west on a street that intersects Guide Meridian, whenever possible I choose one that has traffic lights rather than a roundabout, and I completely avoid Pole Road. This is due to the current visibility issue.

The Mitigation Hearing

At the hearing, the judge was very kind.  We watched him reduce fines and treat people with compassion, depending on their circumstances.  He told me he was impressed with my writeup. I explained to him that I was there because I was unsure whether or not I had broken the law and was hoping he could guide me regarding my best choice (which was to either contest the ticket or go with one of the choices offered by his court). He suggested that I contest and scheduled me to reappear at another court on August 23 at 9 am.

I was very glad that I had gone through the mitigation process first, because the judge himself ended up scheduling me an appointment to contest the ticket. I felt validated.

Contesting Hearing

I received a follow-up notice in the mail regarding the scheduled hearing. On the day of the hearing, I verified that my name was on the list of individuals scheduled to meet with the judge. We entered the courtroom, and shortly thereafter a young man entered with a stack of files. He started calling names.  Mine was not called. Eventually, he looked over at me, and I gave him my name. He determined that he did not have my file and that it would need to be located.

Eventually someone came in with a “file.” After checking it, the young man told me that the state trooper did not write a report; therefore, my case would be dismissed.  But I still had to meet with the judge.

We waited for the judge, and he told me the same thing. Case dismissed. He gave me a slip of paper for my files.  The end.

I knew from the beginning that the officer hadn’t written a report; there was a checkmark to that fact on the ticket.  We don’t know why they didn’t contact me ahead of time to tell me that the case was dismissed due to no report.  I was so curious.  But I took Lynn’s advice.

Let sleeping dogs lie.