Following Too Closely or Tailgating Ticket (VC 21703)
Did you receive a ticket for following too closely or tailgating in Barstow?
Were you issued a ticket for following too closely in Barstow? Did you receive a tailgating ticket on Interstate 15 or Interstate 40? If so, you should contact our experienced Barstow traffic ticket lawyers at Wallin & Klarich to discuss contesting your following too closely ticket.
Our skilled Barstow traffic ticket lawyers have more than 35 years of experience successfully fighting tailgating tickets in Barstow Traffic Court. We can help you obtain the most favorable result possible in your following too closely case in Barstow.
Call our law office today at (877) 466-5245 for a free phone consultation regarding your citation. We will be there when you call.
What does following too closely mean? (VC 21703)
Under Vehicle Code Section 21703, “the driver of a motor vehicle shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of such vehicle and the traffic upon, and the condition of, the roadway.”
Essentially, what this “following too closely” law means is that you must leave a safe distance between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you. There is no set distance that you must be traveling behind a car to avoid a tailgating ticket. All the law states is that you must leave a “reasonable and prudent” distance based upon the circumstances. What is considered a “reasonable and prudent” distance varies based on a number of different factors, including:
- The flow of traffic
- Road conditions
- Driving speeds
- Weather conditions
Following too closely – also referred to as “tailgating” – is common in Barstow, especially on highways that only allow drivers to pass other vehicles in certain areas. If you received a citation for following too closely in Barstow, contact our experienced Barstow traffic ticket lawyers at Wallin & Klarich as soon as possible.
Punishment and fines for following too closely ticket
The base fine for a following too closely ticket is $234. However, the total fine will be significantly higher than $234 due to court costs and penalty assessments.
Following too closely is considered a moving violation. This means you will be assessed one point on your driving record if you are cited for tailgating in Barstow. The DMV could suspend your driver’s license if you receive:
- 4 points on your driving record within one year
- 6 points within two years, or
- 8 points within three years
In addition, having a point on your driving record will likely cause your auto insurance premiums to increase. Thus, a ticket for following too closely could cost you a lot of money over the long term.
If you want to try to avoid these harsh penalties for tailgating, contact our skilled and knowledgeable Barstow traffic ticket lawyers at Wallin & Klarich.
Do you have to appear in Barstow Court for a following too closely ticket?
If you want to fight your tailgating ticket, you either have to appear in person to contest your citation in the Barstow Traffic Court or retain a law firm like Wallin & Klarich to appear in court on your behalf.
Many people who receive citations in the Barstow area live hundreds of miles away from the Barstow Courthouse. This means they will likely have to take a day off of work as well as drive hundreds of miles to make their court appearance. In addition, if they do not have a lawyer representing them who has experience in defending traffic tickets in Barstow, they will not know the procedure for contesting the citation or how to properly cross-examine the law enforcement officer who issued the citation.
When you consider all of the potential costs and time, it is a very smart option to hire our Barstow tailgating ticket lawyers to help you. In most cases, that means you will not have to appear in court and you will have your best chance to receive a favorable outcome in your case.
Fighting a tailgating ticket in Barstow Court
You may believe that you have no chance to beat your tailgating ticket in Barstow. However, our experienced Barstow traffic ticket lawyers have been able to successfully contest citations for following too closely for numerous clients in Barstow and many other traffic courts.
The most common defenses our Barstow traffic ticket lawyers have used to successfully fight tailgating tickets include:
- You were following at a reasonable and prudent distance given the circumstances – The standard for “reasonable and prudent” is subjective. Therefore, there is likely to be no evidence in your case aside from the word of the officer who issued you the tailgating citation. Your Wallin & Klarich lawyer will attack the officer’s observations in an attempt to show that you were not following too closely as defined under VC 21703.
- The officer did not clearly see you tailgating and was mistaken – Your Barstow traffic ticket lawyer may be able to attack the officer’s observations and raise doubt that the officer clearly saw your vehicle following another vehicle too closely.
- The motorist in front of you was driving erratically – Another possible defense to tailgating is that you were only following the car in front of you too closely because the driver was driving erratically. The officer who cited you for following too closely may not have seen the other driver behaving erratically and assumed you were tailgating when, in fact, the driver had cut you off at the moment the officer saw you.
Contact our experienced Barstow traffic ticket lawyers at Wallin & Klarich so we can discuss the details of your case and the possible defenses we may be able to use to successfully contest your tailgating ticket.
What happens if I ignore my ticket for following too closely?
You should never ignore a citation for following too closely. If you ignore your ticket, you could face charges for failure to appear in Barstow Court. This is a misdemeanor crime that carries up to six months in county jail and fines of up to $1,000.
Do not ignore your tailgating ticket. Contact our knowledgeable Barstow traffic ticket attorneys at Wallin & Klarich so we can help you fight your tailgating ticket.
Contact Wallin & Klarich if You Received a Tailgating Ticket in Barstow
If you have received a citation for following too closely or tailgating in Barstow, you should speak to our experienced Barstow traffic ticket lawyers at Wallin & Klarich. Our law firm has been successfully defending clients who received traffic tickets for violating VC 21703 for more than 35 years. Few attorneys have the experience handling cases in the Barstow Courthouse that our firm has.
Our Barstow office is located very close to the Barstow Courthouse at:
Wallin & Klarich, A Law Corporation
400 S. 2nd Ave. Suite #206
Barstow, CA 92311
Contact our Barstow traffic ticket lawyers today at (877) 466-5245 so we can help you fight your tailgating ticket. We will be there when you call.
