Defendant appealed the decision of the Appeals Panel sustaining the violation of R.I.G.L. 1956 § 31-15-12 (interval between vehicles). Defendant claimed that he was not guilty of following too closely because the vehicle in front of him braked suddenly when he saw the trooper. The Court held that the trial judge determined the trooper’s testimony to be credible and that the elements of the violation were proven by clear and convincing evidence because the trooper testified that he first observed the two vehicles traveling seventy miles per hour a tenth to two tenths of a mile away and that the defendant’s vehicle was a car length to a car length and a half behind the front vehicle when they passed his location. The Court noted that it lacked the authority to determine the credibility of witnesses and must defer to the findings of the trial judge on issues of credibility. Accordingly, the Court sustained the violation.