Careless driving

[ed26]

I haven't even passed my test yet but was unfortunately in an accident this Sunday. I was stopping for some lights and ended up much closer to the car in front than I wanted to be. I decided that this was due to the windscreen being dirty and then decided to clen it. This spread the mud (as the car is kept in a garage up a mud alley) across the wind screen and made it more difficult to see. I was naturally frightended by this and tried to clear the windscreen as I pulled away from the lights. I then tried to return to near the speedlimit (a 40mph duel carriageway). and saw the car in front stop suddenly. I pushed hard on the breaks but couldn't stop in time. I later learnt that someone had walked into the road two cars in front of me. My father and I had minor injuries so the police were called and we both told them about the windscreen issue at the traffic lights. The first police officer was willing to leave the situation there but her colleague insisted that it had to be reported as careless driving. Obviously, as a learner driver who wrote of f his car and injured himself and his father, I'm having a little difficulty recovering and this is just adding to the stress. So if anyone could give me an honest opinion I would very grateful. Thanks

[sigma]

By posting your message you're leaving yourself wide open to criticism but I won't be abusive as some of the answers will be.
Firstly, lets analyse the situation. You were driving with impaired vision ie. a dirty windscreen, the washer and windscreen wipers were inaffective and you increased your speed beyond the limits of your vision. Would you have driven as fast if it had been thick fog ?.
To write off your car and suffer minor injuries seems to suggest that you were driving too close to the vehicle infront.
It is these factors that have resulted in a charge of careless driving.
Lastly and probably most important, your father must shoulder some of the blame as you were driving under his supervision. I hope he hasn't been teaching you to drive as he seems incapable of providing adequate instruction by allowing you to get into this situation in the first place.

[Toureman]

Very good answers above.

I would sugest you get proper training from a driving school.

Your father should be charged, not you, the instructer is in charge of the car and he should have made sure the car was fit to drive.

It is a case of the blind leading the blind.

[jno]

You're obviously learning the hard way, but there's two good lessons here: keep your windscreen clean, and don't drive so close behind the car in front that you can't stop in a hurry. Failing to do so is careless whether you're a learner or not. In fact as a learner you need to be more careful than other drivers until you get a lot more practice in and react more automatically. You're in the hands of the police now. Personally I think you'd been punished enough, but I couldn't entirely blame them if they thought otherwise; what happened could have been a lot worse if, say, people in the other car had been hurt.

[gouldc]

Is it April first?

I can't begin to describe my anger (as a claims handler) at the countless acts of stupidity here.

Hopefully you'll get your licence taken off you so you can;t menace the streets any more

[CHOPSUEY]

Yeahhh, burn him!

[persianlady]

In my honest opinion, you should have cleaned the windscreen before you set off. Yes, you were careless, but hopefully you have now learned a valuable lesson and no one was seriously hurt. We all make mistakes. Your father is the main culprit though, as you were under his instruction at the time. I think he should be the one held responsible if a charge is brought. Common sense should have told him to clean the windscreen before you set off.

YOU DID ASK FOR OPINIONS!