Hello, I am hoping to find out how long police have to lay a charge under the HTA after an accident has occurred. In case it matters, lets assume the accident was fully reported the day it happened by both parties. An officer was needed on scene, and the accident was reported at a collision reporting centre. There was more than $5000 in damage and only minor injuries. It was a rear end type collision that did not involve any sudden stopping, bad road contions, or medical emergencies. I am interested in knowing what the expected standard time is to lay charges and if it is around 30 days, if th...

Greetings,

Admin, am understanding your initial reply correctly? If a driver is a G2 holder, gets a ticket, that by itself or in combination with previous convictions is greater than 4 points - so long as they obtain their G license prior to the conviction of the most recent charge, they will not be suspended for 30 days under the escalating sanctions.

Thank you for the clarification.

Hello, I sincerely hope you are feeling less stress now, after a few days. I too have been charged with careless driving, and know how hard it is to conceive how it can be just when you feel you were being careful, and met with unfortunate circumstances. It would seem that there are officers acting on the theory that when an collision occurs, and they become aware of it, either through reporting or a call to the sceen, someone needs to be charged. Since careless be definition is ambiguous, it us the easiest one to apply, as it can cover any driving behaviour. You would be best to learn what th...

Thank you for posting the follow up, this is very helpful to know. I am very glad it was a good outcome for you. I wouldn't feel bad about not asking that it be thrown out, there is a good chance that they would have adjourned to allow you time to review disclosure; you paid the $85 and it is done, rather than dragging out. Best wishes.

Hello,

Received a ticket for careless following a collision. On the ticket Y/O is indicated for collision involved, but is not indicated for witnesses. Is the driver who's car I hit, not a witness?

The prosecutor's case will be difficult to prove, and impossible without her I would think.

I do not yet have the disclosure from the prosecutor, so I do not know if she is identified there as a witness, but can't imagine she wouldn't be. Does it matter that the officer did not indicate that there was a witness?

Thank you for the clarification.

Hello, My husband just received his reinstatement notice yesterday, after his license being suspended following a head injury 13 months ago. Here's what we experienced: - License suspended following accident - He discussed getting it back with Dr. and all agreed he was ready. MTO medical forms completed and sent via fax to MTO Oct. 9th, 2013 - Notice received Nov. 8th that application was approved, further notice to arrive via mail - Temporary license card arrives in mail Nov. 14, no fee payable, notified that regular license should arrive in the coming weeks (with picture) - Celebration ensues!

Thank you Stanton. I also appreciate your mentioning the amount of case law. With that I started digging and came up with http://www.canlii.org. Is this the best source for looking at judgements? In reading through many that involve Careless Driving I noticed very few (in fact only found one so far R. v. Wong, 2013 ONCJ 112) involve small accidents such as mine. Just about every other involves serious injury, or evidence of clearly reckless driving behaviour (as not all involve accidents), or the defendant not appearing in court. This leads me to believe that most people are being charged and ...

I am thinking paying for the damage out of pocket is not likely to lead to the charge being dropped, and if you are going to defend yourself on the basis of there being no damage, or an accident not happening paying for repairs will not help your defence (only a personal opinion) Here is a case where the driver was acquitted of failing to remain, and was found guilty of careless driving which has no relevance to your situation. You get an idea of the details presented in court, and the crown was found not to have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that an accident occurred. R. v. Found, 2011 htt...

Was looking for ticketing guidelines and came across this: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-dr ... le4216574/

If the ticket she received is under Highway Traffic Act, it may not apply to a parking lot. I'm only raising the question, I have no knowledge of this, but worth finding out more about it perhaps.

I can understand your concern, the charge laid is one that I believe is considered serious by insurance providers and carries 7 demerits if convicted. I cannot speak to successful defenses to her situation, and hope someone here can. If she is a G2 driver she is also looking at a suspension under the novice driver esculation program, and it is something you may want to keep in mind as you are thinking of options. I feel such a serious charge is out of line with the incident, as from your description she was still in the area. It doesn't sound like she hit the car, and then they had to track he...

Thank you. With the novice driver escalating sanctions program, will the G driver's license be suspended for 30 days then? The way the G2 would have been.

Also am I understanding it properly that with the program, after the suspension is served, there are no demerits attached to the license? Would this also hold true if a G was obtained before conviction?

Hello. My spouse's license is under medical suspension following a head injury. I have been stopped twice in a few months by officers insuring the suspended owner of the car is not driving. They have checked my identity and sent me in my way, not even asking for insurance and ownership so I know it is about who is driving.

Hello, The feedback received thus far has been helpful and I am wondering about when demerits are applied, and how with the graduated licensing system. Given that it can be months between a charge being laid and a conviction, or a plea deal being agreed upon, are demerits applied only after conviction? Does it matter if a driver was charged while holding a G2 when charges were laid, and then achieved a G before the matter was settled in court? Will the demerits be applied to the G and treated as any other G driver? 4 points on a G1 and G2 lead to a suspension, and with a G they do not...so it ...

Hello.

I'm wondering if anyone has been charged with an offence under the HTA after reporting a collision at a designated reporting centre? If so, with what? Also, if people are not charged with offences after reporting at a centre, anyone know why?

I have no interest in more people getting charged for accidents, trust me! It is a question floating around in my all too busy brain…

Thank you.

The ticket is a form 4…if that matters

Do I understand this correctly, if I pick Option 2 - Early Resolution or 3 - Trial, I will likely be offered a plea deal? I thought this was possible at Early Resolution, but once I select trial it was all or nothing. I understand I can do Early Resolution and then opt for a trail after.

If I go to trail, and the other driver shows up, they are still likely to offer a plea? (not obligated)

Can I ask for disclosure before even getting an Early Resolution or Trial date?