Dingy braking - do, did, or won't

I always get concerned about people who play with fire on brake systems. The fact that you chose to not use one, even though it is required in almost every state, a ticket may be the least of your worries if you are in an accident with injuries. I have posted several times about a civil trial that I sat in on. If you are sued the fact that you didn't have a supplemental break system WILL be used against you. The case involved a Class A towing a toad that rear ended a car at a light. Basically a woman stopped on yellow and he hit her and there were injuries including children. The only ticket he got was for failure to have his vehicle under control. He was apparently in compliance with MD law at the time which said that you had to be able to stop in a certain distance from a certain speed. Remember that in a civil trial, with a jury, emotion not law decides most cases. Her attorney, who was very good, continuously found a way to point out that he did not use a supplemental breaking system even though they were readily available and obliviously he didn't care about the safety of the public and if he could afford a high dollar RV he could have purchased a brake system which would have reduced the severity of the impact, etc.. Remember that to the general public if you drive a class A you must be rich. His lawyer could only point out that he was completely legal in MD. Once the pictures of the injured children were shown it was basically over. The emotions of the jury took over and a huge award was granted. In my mind the lack of the breaking system played a large part in the size of the award. I have no idea if his insurance covered it on not. In MD insurance or lack of it can not be brought up during the trial.