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Squealing tires alone does not constitute driving erratically under state law, the Indiana Court of Appeals decided in a recent opinion.
The court reversed a Henry County Circuit Court bench trial decision that ordered appellant Layke Leonard to pay a $1 fine and $139.50 in court costs.
In the early morning hours of Oct. 6, Leonard was pulled over and cited for an unsafe start after a police officer heard Leonard’s tires squeal when he pulled out of a traffic light stop.
Leonard appealed the bench trial’s decision, arguing the state did not present sufficient evidence that he truly made an unsafe start according to state law. He doesn’t deny that his tires squealed but argues the state didn’t prove he “unsafely” left the intersection.
The Court of Appeals agreed, relying on two past rulings to make their point. In Dora v. State, 736 N.E.2d 1254 (Ind. Ct. App. 2000), the court held that Dora’s spinning and squealing tires didn’t prove he committed an unsafe start without state evidence that, by squealing his tires, he was a threat to himself or others.
In Beasey v. State, 823 N.E.2d 759 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005), the appellate court held that Beasey did commit an unsafe start. In addition to his tires spinning and squealing, his vehicle fishtailed out of a parking lot, proving that he was not in control and, therefore, a danger to himself or others.
In Leonard v. State, the officer who pulled Leonard over testified that, in his experience, tires squealing indicates a loss of traction with the road, which causes unsafe conditions. But the officer didn’t indicate that Leonard’s vehicle was moving in a dangerous manner when its tires squealed, according to court documents.
Because the state in this case failed to show how Leonard’s squealing tires proved he was a danger to himself or others, the appellate court reverses the decision.
The opinion was written by Judge Melissa May. Judges Rudolph Pyle III and Stephen Scheele concur.
The case is Layke Leonard v. State of Indiana, 26A-IF-365.
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