Ticket or not?

Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
July 7, 2010

When a driver of a motor vehicle is in a serious single-vehicle accident (crash), should that driver get one or more tickets?

Let's say that the driver is going too fast, or takes a turn too fast, and leaves the roadway. The vehicle "upsets". Maybe hits a curb or goes down an embankment or hits a tree. The driver is injured and must be transported to a hospital. Maybe even Flight-for-Life has to be called.

The cops are called and show up. The crash scene is observed; reports are written; the crash scene is diagrammed. If several serious driver errors (violations) are noted, should the driver get one or more tickets?

Should accident details be released to the media? Wouldn't you expect to see a report of the accident(s) in the newspaper the next day? Or at least by the second day after each accident?

Now, I can understand perhaps giving the driver a pass (discretion), if there is a dead deer halfway through the windshield. But let's rule that one out.

Common citations in crashes are 1. failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident; 2. improper lane use; 3. no proof of insurance; 4. no valid driver's license (if the driver does not have the license in possession or if the driver is not licensed to operate that class of vehicle). And others.

Now what if the driver is an employee of the McHenry County Sheriff's Department? Let's say, maybe, a corrections officer? Or a patrol supervisor? And then let's say that motorcycles were involved. One each. Separate crashes, in different locations.

What if the Sheriff's Department "buries" it? You know what I mean. No tickets are issued. No crash information is released to the media.

Is this fair? Is it ethical? Is it good or proper police work? Vote in this week's poll.