Hi,

I was recently charged with careless driving for an at fault accident, in which due to a moment of distraction, I hit two cars in the incoming lane. All three cars would need to be replaced I was told. I feel terrible, but I was relieved that everyone was ok. I was following traffic, and I was not checking my cell.

One driver as a precaution went to the hospital, but before leaving the paramedic thankfully said that he should be ok. As a result, the cops showed up and charged me with careless driving. Until then, I had a clean record, and accident forgiveness. I have never been in such a situation before, and I am quite thankful for this forum and its contributors.

The prosecutor at the early resolution meeting told me the accident is proof of my carelessness, and that the burden of proof lies with me to demonstrate otherwise. Is that true?

The Justice of the peace was unwilling to accept any plea deals without disclosure. So off I went to request disclosure, but was informed that without a trial date I cannot do so. I was just notified of my trial date in about two weeks, and that I need to request disclosure between six to eight weeks beforehand! Real short notice! I should have hired a professional from the onset.

Aside from the careless driving being dropped, what charge should I hope for? With respect to any civil liability lawsuit, I would be better off not pleading guilty to any charge. I am trying to gain a better understanding of all the implications associated with any decisions that I may make.

Any advice, or suggestions would be much appreciated. I still feel guilty/terrible, but a careless driving charge has tremendous implications.

Thank you very much,

Some more details of what happened would help but it sounds like you strayed into the incoming lane.

Alternative charges could be Failure to Drive in Marked Lane, Failure to Turn Out to Avoid Collision.

While a conviction doesn't help the civil liability prices is a different one. It sounds like you won't really have a leg to stand on when it comes to whose fault it was.

It is the prosecutors job to show that you were driving carelessly. Not the other way around.

Hi,

Thanks for your advice.

In answer to your query, I was driving on a sinuous road in a residential area in Toronto, and when I glanced at my clock, I continued straight and hit two cars in the oncoming lane. It was the weekend, and although there were a lot of cars on the road, traffic was flowing. I was following traffic, and it did not feel like I was speeding. I was told that it was a bad accident, but thankfully everyone seemed ok.

Thank you

GuidanceAppreciated wrote: Sun Apr 29, 2018 10:33 pm

Hi,

Thanks for your advice.

In answer to your query, I was driving on a sinuous road in a residential area in Toronto, and when I glanced at my clock, I continued straight and hit two cars in the oncoming lane. It was the weekend, and although there were a lot of cars on the road, traffic was flowing. I was following traffic, and it did not feel like I was speeding. I was told that it was a bad accident, but thankfully everyone seemed ok.

Thank you

I'm afraid that this looks like a textbook Careless Driving charge. of course, Crown still needs to prove it either through witnesses or things that you have said but remember that there is a difference between what you have to tell then police after a collision, ie for their reports, and what they can use against you in a trial. You'd probably want to look at legal advice before straying into voir dires though.

If manage to get offered a lesser charge, I'd bite their hand off.