When you are involved in an accident and an officer is called to investigate, the officer will often issue citations to the driver who did not cause the accident if the driver was driving without a valid license or proper insurance. The fact that you did not cause the accident does not invalidate the citation(s).

In a similar issue, if you are cited for having caused an accident and the other driver is cited for not having a valid license, the fact that the other driver was not properly licensed or did not have insurance will not necessarily invalidate your citation.

Failure to Control Speed is a common citation issued to a driver that an officer believes caused a motor vehicle accident. The offense requires proof that you failed to control your speed to avoid colliding with another person or vehicle that is on the roadway. The State does not have to prove that you were speeding at the time of the accident, just that you were traveling at a rate of speed that was stop great to avoid the collision.

In many cases there are defenses to to a failure to control speed citation that can be used to either get the citation dismissed or reduced. If we cannot get the citation dismissed, we can enter a plea in such a way that it does not affect any potential civil case that may be filed as a result of the accident.

This citation is often issued to the second or following vehicle in a rear-end collision. The law provides that you have to maintain an assured clear distance between a vehicle you are following so that, considering the speed of the vehicles, traffic, and the conditions of the road, you can safely stop without colliding with the vehicle in front of you or veering into another vehicle, object, or person on or near the highway.

This citation can also be issued if there was no accident if the officer believes you are too close to the vehicle in front of you. This is often called “tailgating.”

Right of way is the legal term for the vehicle or pedestrian that has the right to proceed before another vehicle into or through a particular part of the roadway.

Failure to yield right of way tickets are usually issued as the result of an accident at an intersection controlled by a stop sign red light, blinking yellow light, a yield sign. In some cases, there may be a dispute as to who had the right of way. For example, there may be a disagreement over who had the green light at an intersection. A failure to yield right of way ticket can also be issued for failing to yield to vehicles exiting a freeway or expressway, vehicles in a round-a-bout, or to pedestrians in a crosswalk.

Unlike most traffic tickets that have a fine range of $1 to $200, a fine for a failure to yield right of way citation where the other driver received bodily injury can range from $500 to $2,000. If the other driver receives serious bodily injury, the fine range can range from $1,000 to $4,000.

You can receive a failure to yield right of way ticket even if there was no accident. This will occur if the officer believes you failed to yield when you had an obligation to do so even though no accident occurred.

Texas law requires that you stop after an accident, determine if anyone is injured and provide assistance, and exchange your name, address, insurance information and a copy of your license if requested.

This applies regardless of who caused the accident.