Cat on a Hot Tin Car – A True Case

Mr. Doe was driving his car in Tel Aviv very slowly, no more than 50 km an hour (30mph). It was late at night and the roads were almost empty. Behind Mr. Doe’s car was another car, the only one behind or ahead of him.

Mr. Doe was completely sober and calm. His wife and child were in the back seat. As realized later, Mr. Doe’s wife was not wearing a seat belt and only his son was wearing one as required.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a cat appeared and crossed the street from Mr. Doe’s right hand side, running right in front of Mr. Doe’s car.

Mr. Doe, in a fraction of a second, turned the wheel to the right in order not to hurt the cat. As we will see, it was a bad decision and the wrong move. The car veered onto the sidewalk, right into a street lamp and stopped.

Mr. Doe’s wife, as a result of the accident, broke a few bones in her face and head. She was rushed to the hospital and was hospitalized for ten days until she was released.

The police arrived at the scene; an expert took pictures and gave a detailed report on the case. The police took Mr. Doe’s license away and he was told to report the next day to the police station.

The next day, Mr. Doe reported to the police station. After a short conversation with the officer in charge, it was decided to return Mr. Doe’s drivers license. Three months later, Mr. Doe received an indictment with three accusations: Injuring a person, Driving Improperly and one more minor general accusation.

The case would be heard in three months, and as is generally common in these cases, Mr. Does’ lawyers set a “predisposition” with the police. I would call it a “small talk – a deciding small talk”.

The police asked for 18 months` suspended license plus a three month suspended prison term and a fine. After 20 minutes of “small talk” the police offered “only” six months` suspended license.

The lawyers tried everything but the police held the opinion that there are tens of thousands of cats in the streets of Israel and it is upon drivers to adapt to this situation.

Mr. Doe’s lawyer thought this was a good case to take up with the Supreme Court, claiming the State should put an end to animals running in the streets. They even did some research to find the statistics concerning car accidents that involve animals. To their dismay, they found that accidents number in the hundreds; some involve deaths (mostly in the south when a car collides with camels or donkeys).  They quickly changed their minds – there was not enough legal ground for a battle in the Appeals Court.

Mr. Doe refused to try any “new experiment” in court in spite of the advice given to him to “grab” the six months. He decided to “fight back” in court. The judge is well known to rule harshly on “bad drivers” (like Mr. Doe); she had previously ruled against drivers in similar cases with cats and dogs.

The case is due at the end of April. My guess is Mr. Doe will have bad luck in court and lose his license for a longer period than the six months offered.

If a cat runs in front of your car, think before hitting the brakes or making some other move that will eventually endanger others or even yourself. All you have is a fraction of a second and years of regret.

Above all, be alert at all times and drive carefully! Life is precious!

Sincerely,
 

Tzvi Szajnbrum, Attorney at Law