OK so this is what happened:

I was driving home in the city, in the centre lane when the van 2 cars ahead hit her brakes hard which made the guy in front of me slam on his brakes and then I slammed on mine. However i was unable to stop in time and hit his car and his car hit her van. We call got out and checked on eachother and saw the reason the van stopped so abruptly was because of a broken down car in the centre lane. (which was not involved in the accident) There was a lot of traffic that day and i was unable to avoid the accident. The police office asked everyone if they were ok and the women in the van said she had been in a previous accident where she had hurt her back so the officer told me and the other driver that an ambulance was coming to check her out and that we shouldnt get upset because it was just for precautionary measures. The ambulance took her away and we settle the rest of the process with the police officer. At the end the officer gave me a careless driving ticket and told me that I should fight it. He also said he had to give me the ticket because someone was possibly injured and I was at the back of the accident so I am natually at fault.

So my questions is should I fight this charge myself or hire someone to do it for me? the porblem is I am broke and the paralegals are pretty expensive considering.... I am 25 with a clean driving record, even the cop told me I had a good driving record. I cannot afford a careless driving charge on my insurance because I can barely afford it now.......and i have to drive 40km a day to work.....

I am mainly concerned because of the person taken away in an ambulance, even though she got out and walked around a couple of times before the police arrived....

any help will be greatly appreciated!

Definitely seek legal representation. Like you seem to be aware of, your insurance rates will likely double if convicted (especially with an accident and possible injury in the mix). If you think long term costs, the paralegal may save you a lot of money (and stress).

Careless Driving is very steep for the collision you described. You should be able to get it plea-bargained down to Follow Too Closely or Fail to Turn to Avoid Collision... both of which are substantially less onerous (as manwithaplan says).

I just want to say that yes a paralegal is "expensive", at least the up front cost is.

However, consider the impact that a Careleess Driving conviction carries: Heavy fine, 6 demerit points, possible loss of license (unlikely in your circumstances but could happen if you already have demerit points.)

PLUS here is the big one: Your insurance classes a Careless conviction the same as an impaired conviction. I have read that it means a 100% increase in your insurance!!!!

I know all of because my son is fighting his CD charge right now too! When I informed his insurance that he had been charged, the person there told me to have him fight it!

You can read about his situation in my other posting about it...

Bottom line is, yes you may not be able to afford a paralegal, believe me, my son is in that boat too! However, with what you are facing in the long run, how can you affford not to???

Good luck!

theweave316 wrote:

I just want to say that yes a paralegal is "expensive", at least the up front cost is.

However, consider the impact that a Careleess Driving conviction carries: Heavy fine, 6 demerit points, possible loss of license (unlikely in your circumstances but could happen if you already have demerit points.)

PLUS here is the big one: Your insurance classes a Careless conviction the same as an impaired conviction. I have read that it means a 100% increase in your insurance!!!!

I know all of because my son is fighting his CD charge right now too! When I informed his insurance that he had been charged, the person there told me to have him fight it!

You can read about his situation in my other posting about it...

Bottom line is, yes you may not be able to afford a paralegal, believe me, my son is in that boat too! However, with what you are facing in the long run, how can you affford not to???

Good luck!

Yup, I got convicted of careless driving when I was 18, insurance pretty much shoots right over $1000 a month. I got my first car when I was 21 (in 2008, after waiting three years for the careless to drop off, however I still had three accidents and a suspension on my record at this point) and my insurance cost me about $475 a month for basic liability only, on a pos 1986 Caddy. The future isn't too bleak though, as long as you stay clean. I'm 24 now, and have full coverage on a 2007 Impala and pay $212 a month, and have a minor speeding ticket from a year and a half ago. (For reference, I live in Toronto, in East York).

Point being, if convicted you probably won't be able to afford insurance for three years.