Citations

Look over your copy of that inspection report. If it has a FMCSA rule violation listed even if you go to court and win these things are almost impossible to get rid of. (Please nobody post that there is an appeal process I know this. It takes a long time to do with NO guarantee of the outcome). You have 2 basic options, either hire an attorney or just pay the fine.

 

There's no traffic school when you have a CDL. Your stuck with it for 3 years unless it's dismissed.

You fill out an annual form with your company as well listing any moving violations you received in the past year.

SO

If you fail to report it, when you fill out that form they are gonna find out an fire you.

I know, you'll just lie on the form. Problem is they run your MVR after you fill it out, now they definitely gonna fire you for falsafing the form, and not reporting the accident.

It's a ####ty situation, but even if you contact an attorney, he's probably gonna tell you to report it to the company. A real attorney is gonna cost you three to five grand as well. With no guarantees whatsoever, and it's gonna drag out for months.
OR
Report it, and leave yourself at the mercy of the company.

 

@Dave_in_AZ beat me to it lol. Better report it to company. Do not want to get fired and then be trying to get a new job with a tear end tix on your record

 

Yep, call safety. Sucks, but it is for the best!

 

Failure to reduce speed is a catch-all...you didn't get stopped in time and hit somebody, so that's what they wrote you for. And cars these days don't always show damage. Plastic bumpers might bounce back to LOOK like there isn't any damage, but the actual bumper hidden behind the plastic could very well have damage. Unibody cars especially don't take much tweaking before body lines aren't lined up quite right, doors quit opening and closing as they should, and stuff starts to leak. What seemed like a small bump to you might have been a bone jarring jolt to the car.

Bottom line, though, you failed to reduce your speed enough and rear ended another vehicle. You can TRY to fight it in court claiming they stopped unnecessarily and unexpectedly and therefore deserve some of the blame...especially if it is a controlled access highway with a minimum speed limit...but that's really about all you can do. Evidence of the violation is the fact that you didn't stop before you hit them.

 

In Maryland that is a automatic ticket for loss of control. If you make contact with the back of any car in the slightest with a 18 wheeler, that's a 45 dollar ticket back in the day added onto whatever else they can find. I don't do slightest, I generally destroy cars.

It's the same in Arkansas. With a couple of other tickets potentially added on just to stack.

Remember in rain or on ice that thing needs a ton of stopping room. If you hydroplaned then that tells me your wheels quit rotating. And you either did not have ABS, it did not function or otherwise locked it up.

Ive made emergency stops in rain and on ice many times. There is a certain amount of room you must have in order to stop. IF you don't have it? well... you are going to hit someone or something.

Fighting the ticket will cost you more than it's worth. In time that ticket will drop off your record. I would not worry about it.

 

A truck going 5 mph does not hydroplane..... No way, no how.

 

Ya, but he slowly hydroplaned, and just tapped the bumper, leaving no marks...