If your driving your car, can a private citizen tell you to stop to allow for the movement of heavy equipment?
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If your driving your car, can a private citizen tell you to stop to allow for the movement of heavy equipment?
I was driving to work one morning and a man backing up a tractor trailers motioned for me to stop. I told him I didn’t want to. I had time to get by the truck before it was even ready to start backing up. The man who wanted me to stop, walked in front of my car. and when I swerved to miss him, he walked in front of the car again. I rolled my window downs and told him to move out of the way I needed to get to work. The man in the truck was still sitting there. He wouldn’t move. I took my foot off the brake and my car rolled fwd and bumped him a little. I’ve been charged with simple battery and reckless conduct. What is reckless conduct?
Asked on August 24, 2010 under Criminal Law, Georgia
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 14 years ago | Contributor
Reckless conduct under Georgia statute O.C.G.A. 16-5-60(b).361 is where a person harms or endangers the "bodily safety" of another person by disregarding a "substantial and unjustifiable risk" that his act would case harm and danger to the safety of another. The actions would substantially deviate from what is known as a "standard of care" that a reasonable person under the same circumstances would exercise. Basically you did not care or were indifferent to the safety of the person and you were operating a vehicle which, when used the way you did, was used in a dangerous manner. So I think that you may need to speak with an attorney on this matter as soon as you can.
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