Careless Driving!?

I was recently cut off from the left hand lane which of course led me to shall we say interact with the vehicle that cut me off.

Basically I was behind this guy, then a right hand lane began to develope, broken white line, I had given 62ft of notice prior to the lane inception that I had intended to occupy the right hand lane(I am very aware of when the lane begins to form,) I entered the hash marks when they began, and as I had intended to make a right turn I kept my blinker on.

I was occupying the lane for approx 110ft, my car fit between the lines and the curb, a truck pulled from the left hand lane right in front of me cutting me off, I swerved and clipped my front right passenger side on his left drivers side bumper. My vehicle came to a rest in the left lane because that was the direction I swerved to.

The police officer charged me with careless driving, said he would agree to let me settle the charge to following too close upon trial.

However it is my belief that with broken white road lines, this suggests occupiable space, which I legally entered, and it is my belief that in the act of turning right from the left lane the moron to my left made not only an unsafe lane change but a illegal right turn because he impeded the flow of traffic.

Does anyone have any tips for me when I go to court, I had a witness who didn't see the accident but noted the moron didn't turn his signal on until after the impact but she did not see the accident, she told the cop but he disregarded her because she did not see the impact.

Did the cop see the impact? i guess not.

Will the truck driver be the cop's witness? If so bring your witness up to counter his.

It just happened two days ago. He disregarded my witness because she did not see the impact.

No the cop did not see the accident, I called him.

The truck came from the left hand side, but you hit him on the driver's side bumper? Did you avoid, swerve, then hit him afterwards?

swerve to avoid him, nearly did as well. I hit him on the rear left bumper and seeing as how he was making a right hand turn that makes sense because it would have been the part of his vehicle furthest in the road.

Just out of curiosity, what road did this happen on? I think you could win this case. I can't say for sure without getting a really good picture, but it does seem like the other driver should've been charged with careless driving or at least an unsafe/improper turn.

Anyway... some generic advice... if you haven't already, re-visit the scene of the crash with a notepad and a camera. Take notes and photographs for your own reference. (Photos might not be admissible in court, but showing them to the Prosecutor might convince him to withdraw the charge.) Do you know if the officer was a collision reconstruction expert? (I'm going to guess he wasn't.) When taking notes, think detail - what was the weather, visibility, other drivers, etc, all of the seemingly "extraneous stuff." Put together your case carefully.

Before I say anything else, have you thought about getting a paralegal to help?

I took pictures at the scene, and I have since collected google satellite images and returned to take measurements the next day.

I was in the cruiser when the officer eyeballed the distances from the corners and whether or not he considered what I was into be a lane. I can tell you where the accident was:

Traveling North on Upper Gage Ave in Hamilton Ontario, at Stone Church Rd East, there is an appearing right hand lane, once I was past Anna Capri I turned on my right signal, which was 62 ft of notice before the lane began.

As the lane emerges I entered it, after all it is a broken white line, I turned off my signal and then re-engaged it because I was making a right on Stone Church Rd East, at 110 ft into the right lane the truck cut across my path from the center lane, not the turning lane in the center and not from the right lane I was in but the center lane.

If you want to see the google satellite map google 1413 Upper Gage Avenue Hamilton Ontario Canada, the impact was at the end of his driveway.

I can't afford a paralegal, I'm on my own with this.

Seems to me the officer suspects you accelerated to jump out and pass the jerk who just cut in on your lane, but you clipped his left corner. Otherwise, I don't see his point. If you can refute his claim, by all means, go to trial. But be very certain of your theory as Careless caries a pretty stiff penalty and is quickly recognized by insurance companies.

You just have to raise reasonable doubt. Were your actions reasonable when considering all the evidence. Personally, I think when faced with someone making an illegal lane change right in front of you, nothing you do should be considered careless.

Can suspect me of jumping out from behind this guy all day if he wants, doesn't make it true, plus I have a photo of the scene where you can see the guy's tread pattern on the road and where he came from, there was a very slight rain earlier that day. Plus Highway Traffic Act 150(I think) says you can pass where safe on the right side of another vehicle, it should have been safe as there is clearly a designated lane on the right, plus you can only make a right turn from the left lane where it doesn't impede traffic flow and I certainly feel impeded.

I stipulate that had the truck come to a complete dead stop in the lane it was in without warning, I would not have hit it, because we did not occupy the same lane, it was only do to his turning in front of me that I crashed my vehicle into his left rear bumper.