115km/h on hwy 400
The incident happened in Feb, driving south on highway 400 near Barrie. I was in the fast lane, doing maybe 115-120, pulled into the middle lane and then I notice a police car behind me, a minute later he pulled me over. Officer said I was doing 145km/h, which is pretty out there, my wife was in the car and there is no way she would let me go that fast. He went back to his car, did his thing, and came back and said he reduced it to 115km/h. This will be my first ever driving offence. I did choose option 3 on my ticket, and sent it in. I just received my notice for trial, which is set for sometime in June. I have a couple of questions.
Since this date in June really doesn't work for me, it's right before I go on vacation, and I'm doing a huge project at work where I need to be around that day, can I still change my plea to guilty? Is that a better option for me right now?
Secondly, the notice for trial says the offence is
"You did commit the offence of "CONVERSION STATUTE" contrary to the "HIGHWAY TRAFFIC ACT" section 99999(999)(999)"
Which I thought was strange.
Any advice anyone could give me would be helpful.
You can always change your plea to guilty if you want to, the Courts sure don't mind.
Just curious, have you received disclosure yet? Is there some particular issue you're going to fight the charge on?
As I always say with speeding tickets, be aware of two things. First, it's an absolute liability offence, meaning there is no excuse for it. You simply have to raise enough reasonable doubt that you never committed the offence. Second, speeding tickets can be raised to the original amount at trial. If the officer really did have you at 45 over, I personally wouldn't risk a full trial unless you've got a sure thing. If the officer shows up and the Crown is ready to proceed, I'd personally plead out to 15 over.
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Radar Identified
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If the cop is there, unless the disclosure was incomplete or inaccurate, I'd plead guilty. The Prosecutor will almost certainly amend the ticket to 45 over if it goes to trial.
* The above is NOT legal advice. By acting on anything I have said, you assume responsibility for any outcome and consequences. *
http://www.OntarioTicket.com OR http://www.OHTA.ca
http://www.OntarioTicket.com OR http://www.OHTA.ca
I don't have anything specific, and maybe I'm being overly dogmatic about this, but I know I wasn't going 145, I feel that I need to say something because I know something must have been done wrong if he clocked me at that rate. If he said 120-125, maybe, but 145 is almost insulting to me. I'm a very careful driver and just do not go that speed. I'm kicking myself for not employing my GPS speed tracker all the time (which is the first thing that gets turned on when my phone goes in the car dock now). I guess the argument would be that he did reduce it to 115, but would he have pulled me over for doing 115 in the first place?
Thanks for the advice, I'll check the disclosure over, I suspect it will be done by the book, at that point I will decide whether it's worth my time off work and hassle.
Just be aware that for Court purposes, saying you wouldn't have gotten pulled over for 15 over isn't a valid defence (although on a 400 series highway it's quite true). All the Court cares about is whether you were actually speeding or not.ninjahat wrote: I guess the argument would be that he did reduce it to 115, but would he have pulled me over for doing 115 in the first place?
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Radar Identified
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Just so you know, almost everyone who's been ticketed for speeding says the same thing.ninjahat wrote:I'm a very careful driver and just do not go that speed.
* The above is NOT legal advice. By acting on anything I have said, you assume responsibility for any outcome and consequences. *
http://www.OntarioTicket.com OR http://www.OHTA.ca
http://www.OntarioTicket.com OR http://www.OHTA.ca
I absolutely realize this, and saying that in court would most likely fall on deaf ears. But I'm writing this somewhat anonymously in a forum, I'm not building a case here. I'm simply saying that I actually wasn't going that fast, so I'm confused as to what happened. It's difficult for me to admit something that I know is not the case. Again, this is all stuff people say regardless of the situation, and not much I can do would convince people otherwise.Radar Identified wrote:Just so you know, almost everyone who's been ticketed for speeding says the same thing.
Driving Record (not one ticket ever)
Picture of day showing heavy/moderate traffic
That's about it... does this give me anything? Should I show up to court on the chance that the officer doesn't show up? Reading the forums it seems like that's a good bet for the Toronto area, not so much for Barrie. I assume I would have the opportunity once in court to plead guilty if the officer does show up.
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Reflections
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http://www.OHTA.ca OR http://www.OntarioTrafficAct.com
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