Just out of curiosity why do officers generally charge some people with a careless instead of a lesser offense.An example would be a careless instead of a following to close in a rear end collision.I haven't been charged but I know people who have and some get the lesser offense and some the careless.

Typically when a careless driving charge is laid instead of follow too close, its due to a lack of evidence to support the latter charge. The Courts have ruled, simply striking a car from behind is insufficient evidence for a conviction. There needs to be some type of evidence showing that the driver wasnt leaving sufficient room above and beyond the crash itself.