Rochester drivers are required to yield to pedestrians when the pedestrian has the right of way. A driver who fails to do so and strikes a pedestrian as a result may be ticketed for failing to obey the rules of the road.

While the fact that the driver received a traffic ticket may be helpful in any lawsuit filed by the pedestrian, its value as evidence that the driver was negligent in his or her operation of the motor vehicle largely depends on how the ticket was handled in traffic court.

In cases where a driver has pleaded guilty to a traffic infraction related to having struck the pedestrian, that plea is admissible as evidence against that driver in the personal injury case.

It is treated as an admission to having committed the charged offense.

In many cases, this admission alone may be enough to establish the driver’s negligence in having struck the pedestrian.

When a driver does not plead guilty to a traffic infraction but instead is convicted of the infraction after a trial in traffic court, the conviction is not considered an admission.

As a result, this fact usually is not admissible in the personal injury case.

The reason for this is that because a traffic ticket is considered a relatively minor, non-criminal matter, the driver may not have contested it as strongly as he or she would have contested a more serious charge – such as a misdemeanor or felony.

If the driver is acquitted in traffic court of any traffic infraction related to having struck the pedestrian and the charge is dismissed, this also is not admissible as evidence in the personal injury case.

The driver cannot use the acquittal in traffic court as evidence that he or she did not drive in the manner set forth on the traffic ticket.

If you were injured by a negligent driver while out walking, we can help you.

Call us at 585-484-7432 for a legal consultation.