Hi guys, I got pulled over last night and was ticketed with HTA 172, I was going 157 on a 100 on 400N and was wondering what I should do. I was using cruise control but the guy in the lane to my left was driving into my lane irresponsibly to I sped up to get ahead of him and just my luck that's when an OPP cruiser pulled up behind me flashing his lights. My court date is at the end of the month and I was wondering what actions I should take to reduce all possible charges as my car has been impounded as well.

I had an absolutely clean driver's licence prior to this incident and this is the first time I have been pulled over other than a RIDE program(didn't get breathalyzed they were just stopping everyone one the road, I don't drink) Also, I did not see the laser that had said I went 157 however he had said I went that speed nor did he offer to show me it either if that makes a difference. I'm also panicking super hard right now and barely slept last night

As you know this is a very serious charge as far as the HTA goes.

You can either:

Attend the court date collect disclosure and see if the evidence against you will support a conviction then decide if you want to seek out a plea bargain or fight the charge.

or

Hire good representation to deal with this in the best possible way on your behalf and sleep better knowing that it is in the hands of an expert. They may end up doing the same thing as you could yourself but I personally would leave it to the pros.

With a level headed approach the odds are this will end up as a speeding charge. The odds of this going to trial as street racing are about the same as you getting off completely (not likely) usually due to a screw up.

A few more questions;

1. How many demerit points should I seek in the plea?

2. Will my license be suspended again?

3. Am I looking at jail time, if not how long until my next court day ?

4. Know any good lawyers? I live in York Region

Youll probably be offered a plea deal where they drop the stunt driving charge in exchange for a plea to the speeding offence. They may also reduce the speeding offence to 49 over, which would be beneficial in terms of insurance implications. Most insurance providers consider anything under 50 over to be a minor offence with minor insurance implications. If youre convicted of 50+ over however it will be considered a major offence which will result in a serious rate increase.

Demerit points will only come into play if you have a G2 licence. Even a 49 over speeding ticket carries 4 demerit points which results in an automatic 30 day suspension upon conviction for G2 drivers. The only way to get less than 4 demerit points would be for them to drop it down to a 29 over, which realistically isnt going to happen. In terms of jail time, I wouldnt worry. Jail time is typically only sought on repeat offenders with lengthy records or egregious first time speeding offences (i.e. 157 in a 50 km/hr school zone versus on a 100 km/hr highway).

In terms of the length between Court dates, it will be dependent on what you want to do. Youll probably be looking at several months to a year before a trial is scheduled. If you simply want to resolved the matter with a plea the wait will be a lot shorter. As stated above though, youll at the very least want to request disclosure and review the evidence against you.

Stanton wrote:

Youll probably be offered a plea deal where they drop the stunt driving charge in exchange for a plea to the speeding offence. They may also reduce the speeding offence to 49 over, which would be beneficial in terms of insurance implications. Most insurance providers consider anything under 50 over to be a minor offence with minor insurance implications. If youre convicted of 50+ over however it will be considered a major offence which will result in a serious rate increase.

Demerit points will only come into play if you have a G2 licence. Even a 49 over speeding ticket carries 4 demerit points which results in an automatic 30 day suspension upon conviction for G2 drivers. The only way to get less than 4 demerit points would be for them to drop it down to a 29 over, which realistically isnt going to happen. In terms of jail time, I wouldnt worry. Jail time is typically only sought on repeat offenders with lengthy records or egregious first time speeding offences (i.e. 157 in a 50 km/hr school zone versus on a 100 km/hr highway).

In terms of the length between Court dates, it will be dependent on what you want to do. Youll probably be looking at several months to a year before a trial is scheduled. If you simply want to resolved the matter with a plea the wait will be a lot shorter. As stated above though, youll at the very least want to request disclosure and review the evidence against you.

is taking that plea deal the best possible outcome of this situation, if so what are the total consequences for that plea deal?

It entirely depends on the strength of the Crowns case. Thats why its advisable to have an experienced paralegal or lawyer review the evidence against you to make that determination. If theres a good chance of beating the charge then its certainly worth taking to trial. If not then a plea deal to a lesser offence is probably best.

You have to get disclosure (officer's notes) and review it before you know what the best possible outcome might be.

You should show up to court date and be very nice to prosecutor and see what kind of plea deal he will offer.

Then you should ask if disclosure is available. And then say you would like to review disclsoure before you decide whether to take the plea deal or not.

After you get new court date set, take disclosure and go see a good lawyer.