Today I was pulled over by a cop, and he told me that I was following to closely. There was no collision - I was following him, and I had kept enough distance (I would have atleast 1 car length or more) - when he turned on the lights and siren, I pulled over - this means that I was able to brake in time as before turning the siren, he pulled over himself, and then took his hand out to signal me to pull over, which I did. It was a 80km/hr zone, and he was doing 67-70km/hr. I think it was his intention to pull someone over, and unfortunately I was behind him. He came to me, and asked me how much distance I had, and I told him atleast 1 car length or more ... but he said I had less than half car length, which I didn't agree with him. He gave me $100 - 4 point ticket. What are my chances of wining the case if I appeal in court? This is in Halton Region Court. I will ask for disclosure package when I go to fight the ticket, however, I'd like some advice to see what should I do in court when my trial comes up. Thanks in advance.
Today I was pulled over by a cop, and he told me that I was following to closely. There was no collision - I was following him, and I had kept enough distance (I would have atleast 1 car length or more) - when he turned on the lights and siren, I pulled over - this means that I was able to brake in time as before turning the siren, he pulled over himself, and then took his hand out to signal me to pull over, which I did. It was a 80km/hr zone, and he was doing 67-70km/hr. I think it was his intention to pull someone over, and unfortunately I was behind him.
He came to me, and asked me how much distance I had, and I told him atleast 1 car length or more ... but he said I had less than half car length, which I didn't agree with him. He gave me $100 - 4 point ticket.
What are my chances of wining the case if I appeal in court? This is in Halton Region Court. I will ask for disclosure package when I go to fight the ticket, however, I'd like some advice to see what should I do in court when my trial comes up.
Based on just your version of the events in a trial? Zero. There is no set distance between vehicles because there are too many variables to consider. Weather, road conditions, brakes, vehicle weight, tires, and the list goes on and on. It's your duty as a driver to calculate the variables and put together a distance that would keep you from hitting the car in front of you NO MATTER WHAT happens. That includes someone pulling out of a road or driveway in front of the driver ahead of you and causing an accident. The driver who causes the accident wont be responsible for anyone you hit in your lane as a result of you not having enough time to stop. If an animal jumps on the road and the driver in front of you slams on the brakes, you'll be at fault if you hit the car in front of you. General rule of thumb is 2 or 3 seconds minimum between cars under perfect conditions. 1 car length at 70km an hour is not even close to being enough. That must be it.
rino wrote:
What are my chances of wining the case if I appeal in court?
Based on just your version of the events in a trial? Zero.
There is no set distance between vehicles because there are too many variables to consider. Weather, road conditions, brakes, vehicle weight, tires, and the list goes on and on.
It's your duty as a driver to calculate the variables and put together a distance that would keep you from hitting the car in front of you NO MATTER WHAT happens. That includes someone pulling out of a road or driveway in front of the driver ahead of you and causing an accident. The driver who causes the accident wont be responsible for anyone you hit in your lane as a result of you not having enough time to stop. If an animal jumps on the road and the driver in front of you slams on the brakes, you'll be at fault if you hit the car in front of you.
General rule of thumb is 2 or 3 seconds minimum between cars under perfect conditions. 1 car length at 70km an hour is not even close to being enough.
rino wrote:
I think it was his intention to pull someone over, and unfortunately I was behind him.
Youll need to request disclosure and see what the officers actual evidence is. Hell need to explain why he felt the distance you were following at was unsafe. If you choose to testify at trial youll need to explain why it was safe. The lack of collision isnt sufficient evidence in itself to say your actions were safe. Youll probably want to take some time and look for case law surrounding the charge of following too close to see where the law currently stands.
Youll need to request disclosure and see what the officers actual evidence is. Hell need to explain why he felt the distance you were following at was unsafe. If you choose to testify at trial youll need to explain why it was safe. The lack of collision isnt sufficient evidence in itself to say your actions were safe. Youll probably want to take some time and look for case law surrounding the charge of following too close to see where the law currently stands.
I'm sure the officer didn't lock up the brakes as the lights/siren were activated. As per 1 car length behind? = WOW A car is usually 5-6 metres in length. Speed of just 50km/hr and vehicle travels 13.8 m every second Speed of 60 km/hr and vehicle travels 16.6 m every second Speed of 70 km/hr and vehicle travels is 19.4 m every second An average time of 1.5 seconds is needed to perceive the need to apply the brakes and then apply the brakes. Now the vehicle has to activate the brakes and the tires have to grab the surface of the road to slow/stop and most typically we all like to do this before we hear the crunching noises.
I'm sure the officer didn't lock up the brakes as the lights/siren were activated.
As per 1 car length behind? = WOW
A car is usually 5-6 metres in length.
Speed of just 50km/hr and vehicle travels 13.8 m every second
Speed of 60 km/hr and vehicle travels 16.6 m every second
Speed of 70 km/hr and vehicle travels is 19.4 m every second
An average time of 1.5 seconds is needed to perceive the need to apply the brakes and then apply the brakes.
Now the vehicle has to activate the brakes and the tires have to grab the surface of the road to slow/stop and most typically we all like to do this before we hear the crunching noises.
Above is merely a suggestion/thought and in no way constitutes legal advice or views of my employer. www.OHTA.ca
I was taught 1 length for every 16 kph. Rino In your case you should have been 5 lengths back. My guess is that the officer tapped his brakes a couple of times before he lit it up. Best of luck. Cheers Viper1
hwybear wrote:
I'm sure the officer didn't lock up the brakes as the lights/siren were activated.
As per 1 car length behind? = WOW
A car is usually 5-6 metres in length.
Speed of just 50km/hr and vehicle travels 13.8 m every second
Speed of 60 km/hr and vehicle travels 16.6 m every second
Speed of 70 km/hr and vehicle travels is 19.4 m every second
An average time of 1.5 seconds is needed to perceive the need to apply the brakes and then apply the brakes.
Now the vehicle has to activate the brakes and the tires have to grab the surface of the road to slow/stop and most typically we all like to do this before we hear the crunching noises.
I was taught 1 length for every 16 kph. Rino In your case you should have been 5 lengths back.
My guess is that the officer tapped his brakes a couple of times before he lit it up.
Best of luck.
Cheers
Viper1
"hang onto your chair when reading my posts
use at your own risk"
So, I should just pay the fine and suck it up or still go for a trial? If someone is following me too closely, I don't get to give them a ticket? But I guess, that's how the law works :( Should I be hiring a paralegal for this one or just give it up? Any advice?
So, I should just pay the fine and suck it up or still go for a trial?
If someone is following me too closely, I don't get to give them a ticket? But I guess, that's how the law works
Should I be hiring a paralegal for this one or just give it up? Any advice?
No he just lit up the lights, and braked after that ... I didn't get any hints that he as going to pull me over ... I told him that I was atleast 1 car length ... but I am sure I had more than enough distance ... At that time ... when the cop was infront of me, I wasn't thinking very well ... which is why I said it ... 5-6 m is nothing - I don't drive that close to another car, but the unfortunate part is that I said it ... so I am sure he would have recorded that in his notes, which will go against me. If I decide to go and fight the ticket, then I'll see what is in the disclosure. If you guys think the chances of wining the trial is zero, then I don't think it is worth going for a trial - the only chance I have is that the officer won't show up ... which is slim given that it was in Halton region - if it was Toronto, then chances would have been more ... in Halton region, there is limited force available ... unless the cop is sick or off shift, I am sure he'll show up.
viper1 wrote:
I was taught 1 length for every 16 kph. Rino In your case you should have been 5 lengths back.
My guess is that the officer tapped his brakes a couple of times before he lit it up.
Best of luck.
Cheers
Viper1
No he just lit up the lights, and braked after that ... I didn't get any hints that he as going to pull me over ...
I told him that I was atleast 1 car length ... but I am sure I had more than enough distance ... At that time ... when the cop was infront of me, I wasn't thinking very well ... which is why I said it ... 5-6 m is nothing - I don't drive that close to another car, but the unfortunate part is that I said it ... so I am sure he would have recorded that in his notes, which will go against me. If I decide to go and fight the ticket, then I'll see what is in the disclosure.
If you guys think the chances of wining the trial is zero, then I don't think it is worth going for a trial - the only chance I have is that the officer won't show up ... which is slim given that it was in Halton region - if it was Toronto, then chances would have been more ... in Halton region, there is limited force available ... unless the cop is sick or off shift, I am sure he'll show up.
So heres my case, does it have any validity? Im argueing that the officer did not have a justified view of where and if my car stopped or not, which it did.
This is the officers view of the stop sign i "disobeyed"
Another possible viewpoint, just so i can say that he cant see regardless
As you can see he cannot see the line where i must stop
As close are possible (which he wasnt) to the intersection,…
I need some help to settle a "Right of Way" argument. I know this question has probably been asked a thousand times before, but after doing a search, I was unable to find a posting on the forum, or the specific section in the OHTA relating to it.
Scenario:
Two cars approach an intersection where the east and westbound directions are controlled by stop signs, and the north and southbound…
I was pulled over for doing 123 in an 80 zone on highway 7 near Peterborough. The officer reduced it to 109 in an 80. It was HIGHLY unlikely that I was going 109, let alone 123, so for the merit of it I am taking this to court. Court case mid January.
Please could you help me to decipher the officer's notes. Are there any errors in the notes or on the ticket that you can see?
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…
Was pulled over earlier today for going 95km/h in posted 60km/h, 2nd offense (same cop that pulled me over the first time >.<) ticket of $265. going down dougall toward cabana where it goes from the 80 to 60 zone (yes was over slightly coming in and kept speed)
Just wondering what the best way to handle this? (location: windsor ontario)
I am a bartender and last saturday night while I was working someone backed into my car (2000 Acura Integra) in the prking lot. One of the cooks in the kitchen ran to tell me my car alarm is going off. Immediately I ran outside to discover my driver side mirror smashed on the ground and my driver door dented. There was nobody around to claim responsibility. I had already begun to suspect one…
Scenario regarding speeding charge - if a charge is not reduced at all at roadside, i.e. the charge, for example is "speeding 75 km/h in a 60 km/h zone contrary to s. 128," should that not mean the prosecution needs to prove that you are guilty of what you are being charged with, and not, simply, of speeding generally? I understand that if they prove a charge of even 61 km/h in a 60 km/h, they…
In a nutshell, in York Region, ran a stale yellow, cop was on a 407 off ramp and tickets me for red light. 2 week old pink slip, I forgot I put the new behind the expired one so I got a ticket for that as well.
Had the first court date adjourned because I did not receive disclosure. I used the Ticketcombat template and faxed it over, they told me I never left a phone number. No surprise there, I…
Was stopped in an OPP speed trap on eastbound QEW near Hamilton at 1:30 AM last week (Apr 25th). Officer said I was doing 131 km/h based on radar gun but I thought I was around 120 km/h (I let off the gas and looked at my speedo when I saw the 2 cars on the shoulder). It was a dark stretch and it was not busy but there were a few other cars on the highway. I asked to see the reading but they said…
1) Discovery info includes 3 pages of Genesis radar manual. Officer's notes show he used "Atlantic Laser" to measure speed. Didn't show model # (only s/n). The Genesis was used earlier on in the day, but not for my case. Can I grill him on this or is it simply a clerk's error in sending me the wrong manual?
I got a ticket for an expired licence sticker. The next day I went to the Ministry office to renew my sticker. I thought that I HAD to pay any outstanding tickets BEFORE I was eligible to renew my sticker. The lady at the desk informed me that I had an outstanding balance and 407 bill that I had a to pay and I told her that I was aware of that. I thought everything was cleared.
Last week I was driving though downtown and because of the slippery / wet conditions could not stop when the light was turning yellow to red and slid in to the intersection. I was hit by another car (near the headlamp). None of us were injured, there was significat damge to the cars. The air bags did not deploy.
I was given a ticket that reads : Red Light - fail to stop - H.T.A sect 144 (18) Fine…
I was just wondering if there was any text in the HTA that suggests that when driving on a highway with three lanes going in each direction, drivers should generally always be in the rightmost lane unless they are passing.
At first, I thought 154(b) was what I was looking for, but now I'm not so sure?
"Officials in West Vancouver, Canada apparently aren't satisfied with the driver-slowing properties of traditional speed bumps. Yesterday, the town unveiled a new way to entice motorists to ease off the gas pedal in the vicinity of the ÃÂcole Pauline Johnson Elementary School: A 2-D image of a child playing, creating the illusion that…
Does anybody know how you can check the status of your Demerit Points and how many you have collected over the last two years?
I just received a ticket as I was travelling through Barrie and am debating whether or not to fight it. My decision will be based on whether or not an infraction I received a year ago came with Demerit Points.
I have a question I would like to ask concerning turning right on a red light.
I was approaching on the right turn only lane to the traffic light which turned from amber to red. As soon as the red light came on, there were advance green left turn arrow for the intersection I was for the cars that were traveling right to left and left to right of me. Since there was a lot of traffic from where I…
So I got pulled over for speeding and following too close, on HWY 11 north of Barrie. The airplane caught me! I will fight this as I have fought ALL my tickets and won EVERY ONE of them (one per year... man I need to drive slower). So any thoughts out there on how to fight this one? Does the Crown have to bring the 2 officers in the plane, plus the one in the cruises to court? If 1 in 3 doesn't…
I am new to this forum and before making this post I did some digging and was unable to find anything on this method of officer note taking.
A little back ground of my case:
charged with 25km/h over the posted limit.
After numerous disclosure requests, finally received a detailed disclosure including several pages of the lidar manual and typed officer notes describing the events of my…
My wife was just pulled over for running a yellow light and instead was ticketed for an expired drivers licence. The license expired on her birthdate 4 months ago and she didn;t recieve a renewal. $325 !!!!!!
Hope someone can help. She was ticketed under HTA 32 (1) with the offense shown as
"Drive Motor Vehicle no license"
Can anyone tell me if this is worth the effort to get a reduction in the…
So I got pulled over for supposedly for running a stop sign. The problem is that I did a complete stop, waited a split second and started again. And yes I did stop behind the white line.
He took my information and went back to his car to write me up a ticket, came back and gave me my fine and explained to me the process. He gave me a reduced fine (65$ and ne points).
Someone has an accident in a car worth very little on highway 401 but the car is not drivable (but not in terrible shape), there is a police report filed right away in which no other cars were involved, however the car did strike a guardrail. Is it possible to handle this without involving insurance? Or is a forgone conclusion insurance will be notified by the police?
I made a minor mistake on my disclosure request - I put a "Request Date" of September 10, 2014 instead of 2015. The rest of the form is correct including offense date, fax date, trial date.
Will this affect my disclosure? Do I need to clear it up?
Also, I noticed the Ticket Combat disclosure form has a lot more information than what was posted in on this site. Is it OK to send a second…
