Recently my husband had a car accident when the car in front of him stopped suddenly for a pedestrian. My husband could not stop and bumped the other driver's SUV with our small car - a mere fender bender.
The officer who wrote the citation asked him for the car registration and proof of insurance, which were indeed in the car. However, due to being upset and poor visibility at 7:30 p.m. (from the dash clock), he could not locate his insurance card at the accident. The officer said he should take his insurance card in to the courthouse and it would be dismissed. It ended up to be a four-month process.
My husband was appointed a public defender and told to report the following week. At that appearance, he was fined $110 and told to return two months later. When that time came, he returned to court and was assigned a second public defender.
This entire experience cost us, the taxpayers, for two judges, two public defenders and numerous staff personnel to organize and record all this - totally unnecessary for what should have been a mere fender bender.
Tina Brown
Kihei
