Ontario Highway Traffic Act

In this case you should get the officer's notes and a copy of the witness statement. If you do not have disclosure on the day of trial, bring it to the JP's attention. You could ask for the charge to be dismissed, although this technically is not the proper procedure to follow. The JP may be sympathetic and stay the charge, but more than likely he ...

You have every right to refuse to hire them again. If I had a driver like that, I'd probably do the same, especially since they got all defensive about it.

Separate Note: My wife was recently driving down a busy street in Toronto, in the right lane, when a cab driver turned right from a side street without slowing at all. She had to swerve violently to avoid a crash. To illustrate how close it was, the guy who was behind her stood on his brakes and screeched his tires. She honked at the cab driver ...

If you are concerned about the cabbie's driving, the best thing to do is complain to his company (which you did). If they do not appropriately deal with the situation, then go to the BBB (which you did). The other alternative is to report it to the police. You have witnesses and can also identify the driver. He was (allegedly) repeatedly breaking ...

I would also think that deliberately not showing up for court when you are an acquaintance with the accused could result in charges of Obstruction Of Justice (CCC s. 139).

Make sure you get affidavits of service for each party that you served via fax.

What will probably happen is the JP will order the Crown to produce the disclosure materials and adjourn to another day.

You can call your paralegal and ask them if the trial has been scheduled. Chances are, it has not. I'm currently in the process of contesting a ticket at the same courthouse and it took over eight months just to get the Notice of Trial. If you are in doubt, you can call Court Services yourself and they'll tell you.

Does anyone know what happens to me if I just don't show up, or does anyone have any suggestions on how to get out of this?


If you don't show up, a warrant could be issued for your arrest. You could go to jail.

As for "getting out of it," I really don't think that is an option. You could talk to a lawyer about it, but I strongly suggest you ...

Wait until at least 6 months after the date of the offence before you talk to the Prosecutor. Otherwise, the Prosecutor can withdraw the original charge, and have the officer show up and issue a summons for you to appear. What I'd do is this: Get the trial date, get disclosure, THEN warn the Prosecutor you plan on following the "London v. Young ...

Creative? If you're asking for ones that resulted in either the court or the officer ROFL, then I've heard of plenty. As far as ones that were accepted as "defence of necessity," I can't think of any. Some "creative" ones that have been tried and failed include:

- "I was going to run out of gas" (driving faster actually burns gas at a higher rate ...

The only one I heard that successfully worked was where a cardiac surgeon was speeding to a call at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto. He got stopped for going 75 in a 40 zone, pleaded with the officer to be released and ticketed later, however the officer refused and ticketed him at the roadside. Anyway, when it went to court, the Prosecutor ...

Of course the officer would not likely write "lost sight of vehicle." What you want to see is if "stopped without sight lost" is missing.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GfS3M3UZr0[/youtube]

The courts do not consider "weather conditions" to be a valid reason for failing to stop. If you were to testify that the roads were slippery and that was why you were unable to stop, it would be a "gimme" for the Prosecutor. Some valid reasons for failing to stop include:

- Brakes failed unexpectedly (mechanical problem, would need a mechanic's ...

Not really. If you took your ticket to the courthouse that was listed on the back of the ticket, and that same courthouse is where this notice came from, that's the end of it. If the police do not file the ticket within 7 days, the courts will not accept it. It is possible that the officer was delayed in filing the ticket, but really, there could ...