Hello, On June 19th I was pulled over by the OPP on Bruce County Road 3 in the municipality of Brockton, Ontario. My intent at the time was to overtake two cars going about 100 km/h. As I move into the left lane to over take the first car I hit about 120 km/h. Once I am beside the next car I wanted to overtake the 3 cars in front of him slam on there brakes because they must have notice the OPP officer staked out in a driveway coming up. These cars slamming on their brakes forced me to accelerate up to 160 km/h (which the SUV speed is limited to), and pass six cars instead of two that i intended on passing. The OPP officer clocked my speed at 154 km/h as I was forcefully merging back into the right lane because there was oncoming traffic quickly approaching. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed that the officer did not impound my car for stunt driving. But I still think that I have a very good argument to have the charges reduced further, if not dropped. I am not a fast driver, this is my first offense (I am only 19) and I would really like my license to be spotless. However, speaking with my good friend's father who is a lawyer, suggested that my best bet would be to plead guilty, because if I do go to trial, there is a chance that the ticket could be amended back up to 154 km/h. I certainly do not want that to happen. He said my only hope would be to request a trial, and if the cop did show up to court, just pay the ticket right then and there, so that the chance of the ticket being amended would be gone. I feel that I do have an argument, and I'm sure there are multiple radar certification cards I could play as well, after reading many success stories on charges being dropped because of that. Thoughts, comments, and concerns would be greatly appreciated. Like I said, I would really like to maintain a spotless record, but I don't want to puch this and open up a whole new can of worms. Thanks
Hello,
On June 19th I was pulled over by the OPP on Bruce County Road 3 in the municipality of Brockton, Ontario. My intent at the time was to overtake two cars going about 100 km/h. As I move into the left lane to over take the first car I hit about 120 km/h. Once I am beside the next car I wanted to overtake the 3 cars in front of him slam on there brakes because they must have notice the OPP officer staked out in a driveway coming up. These cars slamming on their brakes forced me to accelerate up to 160 km/h (which the SUV speed is limited to), and pass six cars instead of two that i intended on passing. The OPP officer clocked my speed at 154 km/h as I was forcefully merging back into the right lane because there was oncoming traffic quickly approaching.
Needless to say, I was overwhelmed that the officer did not impound my car for stunt driving. But I still think that I have a very good argument to have the charges reduced further, if not dropped. I am not a fast driver, this is my first offense (I am only 19) and I would really like my license to be spotless.
However, speaking with my good friend's father who is a lawyer, suggested that my best bet would be to plead guilty, because if I do go to trial, there is a chance that the ticket could be amended back up to 154 km/h. I certainly do not want that to happen. He said my only hope would be to request a trial, and if the cop did show up to court, just pay the ticket right then and there, so that the chance of the ticket being amended would be gone.
I feel that I do have an argument, and I'm sure there are multiple radar certification cards I could play as well, after reading many success stories on charges being dropped because of that.
Thoughts, comments, and concerns would be greatly appreciated. Like I said, I would really like to maintain a spotless record, but I don't want to puch this and open up a whole new can of worms.
Go with the lawyer's advice. I guarantee if you go to trial the charge will be amended to the full amount. Passing vehicles isn't justification for speeding, and it isn't like you were going just a little over. I think if you go to Court and try to argue you deserve a further reduction you'll get a nasty shock.
Go with the lawyer's advice. I guarantee if you go to trial the charge will be amended to the full amount. Passing vehicles isn't justification for speeding, and it isn't like you were going just a little over. I think if you go to Court and try to argue you deserve a further reduction you'll get a nasty shock.
If you fight these charges, as Stanton said, the Prosecutor will almost certainly withdraw the Speeding 114 in an 80, and replace it with Stunt Driving. They have up to 6 months to do that. Or, they could just amend it to Speeding 154 in an 80 at trial, no matter how long it takes to come forward. I do not agree that you have a "good chance" of getting the charges reduced further, or even dropped. The speed limit was 80 km/h. It seems like you were attempting to pass several vehicles that, by your own admission, were already going over the limit. That is not a valid defence. The fact that you also continued to accelerate, instead of hitting the brakes yourself and abandoning the pass, will not be a justifiable defence for going nearly double the speed limit on an undivided highway. The courts want to see that you did not exceed the speed limit at all. The recent case on this website with "calibration" was simply dropped. They do not state that "we are withdrawing it because we didn't provide calibration records." The assumptions about calibration being "the reason" were made by the posters and other people here. It was speculation. I would not recommend relying on that as a viable option. I have been in court often enough to see this tried more than once, and it has never worked. The Prosecutors simply dig up legal precedent and squash it. The break that the officer gave you was, for lack of a better expression, shocking. The only thing you may be able to do is plea-bargain to a slightly lower speed in a First Attendance meeting, but that is probably not going to happen. Well, maybe the officer might not show up, or might completely goof up, but that's not likely to happen. If you were actually going 114 in an 80 and the speed wasn't reduced, well, I might suggest pursuing it but not in this particular case where you got a massive reduction and the consequences you are risking by fighting it are so severe. You may, within a few weeks of fighting the charge, get a notice that the Prosecutor has filed a motion to amend the charge to Stunt Driving, and possibly a host of others. I would recommend that you simply pay this one. The courts are not easy to navigate and the Prosecutors do their job full-time. If a trained and qualified lawyer is telling you to pay it and let it go, I would listen to him.
If you fight these charges, as Stanton said, the Prosecutor will almost certainly withdraw the Speeding 114 in an 80, and replace it with Stunt Driving. They have up to 6 months to do that. Or, they could just amend it to Speeding 154 in an 80 at trial, no matter how long it takes to come forward.
I do not agree that you have a "good chance" of getting the charges reduced further, or even dropped. The speed limit was 80 km/h. It seems like you were attempting to pass several vehicles that, by your own admission, were already going over the limit. That is not a valid defence. The fact that you also continued to accelerate, instead of hitting the brakes yourself and abandoning the pass, will not be a justifiable defence for going nearly double the speed limit on an undivided highway. The courts want to see that you did not exceed the speed limit at all.
pman142 wrote:
I'm sure there are multiple radar certification cards I could play as well, after reading many success stories on charges being dropped because of that.
The recent case on this website with "calibration" was simply dropped. They do not state that "we are withdrawing it because we didn't provide calibration records." The assumptions about calibration being "the reason" were made by the posters and other people here. It was speculation. I would not recommend relying on that as a viable option. I have been in court often enough to see this tried more than once, and it has never worked. The Prosecutors simply dig up legal precedent and squash it.
The break that the officer gave you was, for lack of a better expression, shocking. The only thing you may be able to do is plea-bargain to a slightly lower speed in a First Attendance meeting, but that is probably not going to happen. Well, maybe the officer might not show up, or might completely goof up, but that's not likely to happen. If you were actually going 114 in an 80 and the speed wasn't reduced, well, I might suggest pursuing it but not in this particular case where you got a massive reduction and the consequences you are risking by fighting it are so severe. You may, within a few weeks of fighting the charge, get a notice that the Prosecutor has filed a motion to amend the charge to Stunt Driving, and possibly a host of others.
I would recommend that you simply pay this one. The courts are not easy to navigate and the Prosecutors do their job full-time. If a trained and qualified lawyer is telling you to pay it and let it go, I would listen to him.
* 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
Thanks for the quick reply guys. Not what I was hoping for, but definitely what I was expecting. I guess I should cut my losses on this one. I will let you know what the final outcome is though.
Thanks for the quick reply guys. Not what I was hoping for, but definitely what I was expecting. I guess I should cut my losses on this one. I will let you know what the final outcome is though.
You got pretty lucky getting dropped 40km on your ticket. I felt lucky getting dropped 2 in order to not get impounded. Do some more research, possibly just pay it. If you get amended back to 154, you're gone.
You got pretty lucky getting dropped 40km on your ticket. I felt lucky getting dropped 2 in order to not get impounded. Do some more research, possibly just pay it. If you get amended back to 154, you're gone.
I have a problem and not sure what the hell to do about it. Few days ago I was stopped on a street going westbound against blinding afternoon sun following the flow of traffic. I drive a taxi for living in Toronto and have ACZ driver's license. I have a perfect record both for professional as well regular demerit points. I haven't been pulled over as a matter of fact in some 15 years for…
I have recently gone to court for a speeding ticket issued by an OPP officer. As it stood, the officer forgot to sign the ticket. So at my trial, before I made a plea, I pointed this out to the justice of the peace and asked that the ticket be quashed. I was asked to produce my copy of the ticket, which I gave and the JOP then agreed with me and dismissed the case. Before he did so, the…
I got pulled over (along with about 10 other cars) for going through a road closed sign. I had just pulled out of a parking lot pretty much right beside the road closed sign, and with about 4 cars behind me there wasn't much I could do but go through, so I think I have a good chance of fighting it. However, on my ticket under the Signature of issuing Provincial Offences Officer, it's left…
So here's my situation, any advice would be appreciated.
On June 26, 2013 I received a ticket for 25 over in a 60 zone
In early October I received my notice of trial (Feb 25, 2014)
In early January I sent in my request for disclosure
In late January I received a letter to pick up my disclosure, however when I picked up my disclosure it wasn't typed (I had requested it to be) and I needed…
Is there a legal requirement to report an accident to the insurer?
Scenario
- 2 vehicle accident
- each vehicle has less than $1000 damage
- each vehicle has damage roughly equal to insurance deductible
- a police Accident Report was completed
In this scenario the drivers decided to repair their own damages. But are they legally bound to report the accident and damages to the insurer? ...and out of…
I will be representing my wife at her speeding trial next week. Mostly everything is pretty much run of the mill but since she wasn't speeding we will be having her take the stand. Since this opens up the opportunity for the prosecutor to cross examine, I am just wondering if anyone here knows what kind of questions we should expect from the prosecutor in order to best prepare.
i got pulled over by a cop this morning in my kids's school zone for failure to stop at a stop sign. i am thinking of fighting this ticket, but i noticed that on the ticket itself it only says "disobey stop sign - fail to stop" and there is no mention of the demerit points. a co-worker mentioned to me that a ticket should state how many demerit points i am being docked. i know the Highway Traffic…
Alright, so this happened back awhile ago on June and I haven't appeared in Court. However, I would like some inputs and advice before I get into this battle.
Back in June I got a Speeding Ticket claiming I was going 100km/h on Blackcreek going south towards Lawrence. The Speed Limit there is 70km/h.
At this point of time, it was roughly traffic hour around 4-5PM. Coming off of the Highway, and…
Ive already done searches, read the act as best i can but still haven't read a complete answer. Where in the HTA does it state that the front license plate must be attached to the front bumper? I have it on the passenger sun visor (if ppl remember the old temp permits that taped to the pass side of windshield) i figured that this spot would be the same. However now they have got rid of…
My son was returning from school and was just entering the driveway when another vehicle hit the rear end. Police writes a ticket "fail to yield from private drive" 139(i). He is going to fight this ticket and made an application for disclosure. The trial is next week and he still hasn't received the disclosure.
He checked with the court last month and they said that they will call when disclosure…
i was travelling on the 401 (posted speed 100km/h) in the far left lane, when i caught up to a vehicle going ~110km/h. I patiently waited for the vehicle to move over a lane, but they did not. The vehicle behind me moved to the center lane to pass, but because he was a safe distance behind me, i moved into the middle lane ahead of him to pass the slower moving car. When I accelerated, i…
So I was returning from my honeymoon in Montreal, and was cruising down the 401 just inside the Ontario/Quebec border. I was passing one of the Onroute stations and saw an OPP cruiser. I checked my speed and I was doing 120. A few kilometers up the road the cruiser pulled me over and told me I was clocked doing 132 by the aircraft. I was a little surprised to see the ticket was for the full…
I made a right turn during prohibited hours (7am-6pm) in Toronto. I was ticketed by a COP who was specially watching for that trap.
After I've received the ticket HTA144(9), I discovered one of the seven digits of my license plate was incorrectly written on my ticket. I was thinking about to make a First Attendance at the court office to see the prosecutor for a reduced charge...any advice or…
Have been busy and haven't had much time to follow up on this...
Went to court having not received disclosure (and was not organized enough to apply for a stay), so the trial was adjourned. They photocopied the officer's ticket and notes and provided a log sheet from the plane. I've sent another request for the rest of the disclosure items.
So here's my question -- can an officer amend the ticket…
I am not sure if my case is really a case of " mis-use parking permit" and need some advises on whether i should fight the ticket. Here is what happened:
During the labor day long weekend, I took my parents to diner at a local shopping mall. (my father's hip was broken in 2016 and he's been on wheelchair since, the permit is in his name and I been using the permit to help him for doctor's…
I have a court date coming up where I need to subpoena one of the officers that was present when I got my ticket. The issuing officer didn't include the fact that the second one was present at the time in his report (disclosure) but did give me the second officers name and badge number after the judge told him to do it.
What I'm looking for help with is the process of me getting to…
I got pulled over on a 4 lane section fo Highway 7... Thank god I didn't get a stay at home ticket as well or my car impounded.
Officer clocked me at 156 km/h he decided not to impound my car and give me a 149 km/h since it was my first offence and he said I was polite and respectful. I would give this officer a 5/5 review if I could, very polite and respectful.
Long story short, I was driving from Toronto to Ottawa and around Napanee with my friend in two separated cars, the officer was parked on uturn. He followed us turn his light on and got between us and pulled us over, he told me that i was running at 152 km/h without showing me his LISAR. they suspended my and my friends license and impounded the two cars for 7 days. This was a Friday in January…
I'm unsure on what to do here. I was under the impression that I could request a stay on the day of trial because disclosure was not given to me in an adequate time. I requested disclosure 2x by fax, 5 months ago.
I read on ticketcombat that I had to file a motion 15 days prior to the trial to request a stay of proceedings.
Does anyone else get blinded by fog lights on rural roads? I don't seem to have a problem with them on lighted streets, but the badly aimed fog lights or ones with a poor cutoff really get to me when driving the Escort. I just came back from a 20-minute drive, and every single pickup truck had fog lights on, and forced me to focus on the bottom right of the road. My windshield is clean and…
