I have been driving for 2 years and had a pretty good record thus far, a lane violation here and a log violation there but nothing major. recently I was driving for a local company called Ocho Rios which I dont believe was a CDL job because I did not have to take a pee test and the truck did not have air brakes..it was like a small u haul truck. Anyway, I rear ended another car and got ticketed for following to close!! I am heartbroken because I was ready to go back out on the road!! My question is how will this affect my prospects for new jobs and what is the best way to handle the situation?? Should I get a lawyer and fight the ticket?

Count your lucky stars you didn't kill someone. Kinda hard to win fighting that ticket.

I agree. I don't know tho because I had gotten stopped in a routine safety check a while ago and the cop said the brakes needed to be serviced and i dont know if they ever got them fixed. How does an accident of this nature affect my future tho?? Also does it make a dif if the job was not cdl required??

IMHO You'll be lucky if the bigger companies will take you with a recent rear-ender. Some of the smaller companies, on the other hand, are often better jobs...

beating the ticket??? You're held to a higher standard, so you won't beat it. You might plead not guilty anf then dicker your way into pleading guilty to something less damaging + a little community service. All prosecutors aren't totally anal, just most of them.

regardless to whom or what, u advise to go to court as opposed to just paying the ticket off?? How soon b4 it shows up on my mvr??

First,You received a summons for following too close.The ticket tells you that you can plead guilty and you can pay the fine.Plus add about 4 points on your license.If you wish to plead innocent,sign the ticket,check the box "not guilty"and mail to the clerk.You will receive notice in the mail for court date.Yes, you will proably need a lawyer and yes you may be able to plea down to a lesser violation.Shortly before court time you can also talk to the officer who issued the ticket and see if you can plea to a lesser violation.The court and a lawyer will consider road conditions,wet or dry,sun glare,time of day,traffic among other things.Get a lawyer.Last thing,until you go to court and the charge is sustained or dismissed it will not show on your DMV record.

thank u!!! okay, heres another question, if i get a job between now and the court date, how do i handle when it comes uP? should i tell off top or wait to see how they approach the situation?

I agree with Whichway, though I tend to think your chances are slim. But ALWAYS fight a ticket.

Since you knew the truck had been given a fixit ticket, as a CDL holder, it became your responsibility to make sure the thing was fixed before you drove it again. It's part of that 'higher standards' thing. If the company said "yeah, we fixed it" - and you have that in writing, you might be safe on that count.

While it goes against my grain to say this, I'd suggest you keep mum about the ticket. Every application I've ever filled out has asked for traffic convictions in the past X years. If you are still pending court at that time, it's not a conviction, and can be passed over.

Howver, the app will also ask about accidents in the past X years - and you can't ignore that one. You'll have to include it. Since most apps ask for a description of the event (to a point) you can specifically mention any extenuating circumstances: sun glare, swoop & squat, etc. Might not help, but certainly won't hurt.

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Keep the big doors at the back!

In most states, hitting someone in the rear is automatically your fault, and is ticketable. Even if you're driving in a car, it would still effect your mvr, and would make it harder for hiring. The fact that you also have a lane violation along with the rear end accident may show a company that you either do not pay enough attention, or do not have enough experience. If you can afford a lawyer get one, get it postponed as many times as possible, see if he can get it reduced, and I would suggest trying to get hired with a company I planned on staying with for a few years, then allow nothing to happen!!! As was said earlier, if the app says convicted you can say no accidents, if it says how many accidents have you had, you must answer truthfully. Good luck to you!!