Yesterday morning I was involved in an accident while heading north on
I-275. This happened on the northern most bridge before hitting the
mainland of St Petersburg. I was traveling in the right lane with my
cruise control set on 65 mph and I do not travel through the city while
using my cruise control due to expected congestion. I therefore used the
brake pedal to disengage my cruise control then noticed a vehicle swerve
into the left lane only to then swerve back into my drivers side rear
wheel. This impact sent me out of control and into the concrete dividing
wall. She ended up into the right concrete wall. I immediately got out
checked then decided to move my pickup truck out of the travel lanes before
it wouldn't move as the damage looked extensive. The investigating Florida
Highway Trooper went to the hospital to interview the driver who hit me and
he has determined that I was partially responsible for the accident. Am I
not allowed to slow down without being charged with an accident? The
trooper seems to think that there are better methods I should have used to
disengage my cruise control rather than using the brake pedal. I disagree
since the brake light then warns any traffic behind me. I'm not
responsible for the reaction of any of those vehicles. I just needed to
disengage and slow my vehicle. I was driving along in the right lane
without incident until she hit my vehiicle. I do not have any money to replace or repair my vehicle as oddly
enough I was on my way home from paying the final payment to the dealer on
my truck. I need transportation to find a job and then get to a job. I'm
unemployed presently. I have a clean motor vehicle record and have been a
long haul trucker for 8 years without incident. I'm a safe driver and see
the troopers determination as very unfair. It's obvious she was tailgating
since she then lost control simply because she saw brake lights.

Can you offer me any advice or assistance in this matter. I'm desperate
as I was finally in a position to search for and go to work. Now of course
I cannot.

Thank You,

Have you tried speaking with your insurance company. They typically help out with these situations. Have you browsed through the information in LawInfo's Free Legal Resource Center to learn more about your issue yet? See: http://www.lawinfo.com/consumer.html. You can certainly try to speak to a lawyer to determine what legal options may be available. In the meantime, you may be able to learn more on your own. Search the "Free Legal Resources" tab, or browse the Consumer Resources. Good luck.