Why Following too close and not Careless?

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Tailspin
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Why Following too close and not Careless?

by: Tailspin on
Thu Feb 13, 2014 8:42 pm

Hi.
I was involved in an accident in November. I was heading south on a major four lane street in midtown Toronto. Stopped behind several vehicles at a traffic red light and after 2-3 seconds was hit from behind. The impact exploded my rear window,crumpled my tailgate and bumper dead between the taillights, broke my seat and sent my dogwalking dogs into my barrier and back again (no injuries to the dogs). My mini van was a write off. My van was sent into the small pickup in front of me and his damage was that his cab shifted from the impact. The SUV that hit me had extensive front end damage, including a broken radiator. My front license plate came off when I hit the truck ahead...and was found under my back wheels. It was a very hard hit and I was moved forward at least one and a half car lengths.
I did not hear any sudden application of brakes prior to impact, it was a blind hit.
I am injured with whiplash (improving) and post concussive syndrome. The driver of the SUV was deemed 100 percent at fault.

Here are my questions: I recently received a subpoena to attend court in March. The driver of the SUV was charged with FTC. Does this always go to court or only if she is fighting it? Why did she only get FTC instead of CD? Given that this particular stretch of road at 330 in the afternoon is pretty busy and there are lights every two blocks or so, she would have had to have been pretty far behind me AND going at LEAST at speed to hit me three seconds after I was at a complete stop. If she was following too closely, IMO, this impact would have been considerably less, both in damage to the vehicles and to me. I am no physics master but it seems to me that the charge is wrong...

So...what goes into choosing the difference between the two charges?
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Stanton
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by: Stanton on
Thu Feb 13, 2014 9:18 pm

You're only required to attend Court when the accused has requested a trial. Sometimes a plea deal will be reached before the trial or even on the day of, but until you hear otherwise be prepared to testify. If you wrote out any type of statement, it's a good idea to review it before the trial.

Based on your description of events, I'd agree that follow too close was not the appropriate charge. Unless the officer has some additional supporting evidence, I can't see the accused being convicted. The Crown might end up withdrawing the charge once they've reviewed the case file in more depth.
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Tailspin
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by: Tailspin on
Thu Feb 13, 2014 9:51 pm

Stanton wrote:The Crown might end up withdrawing the charge once they've reviewed the case file in more depth.
Thanks. Does this above sentence mean withdraw and changing the charge or just withdraw generally?

Sorry if I'm a bit dense, sometimes my brain has some difficulty processing things. PCS is a pain in the butt.

Can I also say that I'm pretty upset that given the damage she has done to my life that she is contesting the charge when it is the less serious one? Sigh.
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Tailspin
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by: Tailspin on
Tue Mar 11, 2014 8:36 pm

Stanton wrote:Most likely just withdrawn completely.
Court was today. Since I had not actually seen her coming up on me from behind, the charge could not be prosecuted. She got off completely.
I am sad and angry.
Thanks again for your help, just wanted to update the post.
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