NEW SPEED LAW IN ONTARIO

Here it is at last, the New Speeding Law. Anyone caught speeding or racing in ontario, his/her licence will be suspended for seven days and they will have to pay all the costs in storing the car, towing the car and over $2000 in fines. Why? The young people are just too much on the roads. They assume the roads are only for them. The new law will make our roads safer and also more manageble for the police.

How can you justify when you are speeding at 150 km/h on 401 ? Many of us, use the excuse, " I am getting late to work".

Classification of Traffic Offences.

The most important classifications in HTA are Absolute Liability and Strict Liability Charges.

In Absolute Liability offences allow for conviction upon proof of only the guilty actions or " actus reus" of the accused. If the crown proves the guilty action and no defense is raised, the Conviction is proved.

In Strict Liability, the burden of proof is on the defendant to prove that he or she took all the necessary measures to prevent the occurrence.

The Careless Driving Charge - HTA of Ontario.

Careless Driving Charge Information.

Careless Driving as stated in the Highway Traffic Act (HTA)

130. Every person is guilty of the offence of driving carelessly who drives a vehicle or street car on a highway without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the highway and on conviction is liable to a fine of not less than $200 and not more than $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both, and in addition his or her licence or permit may be suspended for a period of not more than two years. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 130.

OPP Officer Facing Careless Driving Charge.

An OPP officers is facing a charged of careless driving following a 3 vehicle chain reaction crash on Tuesday. An OPP van rear-ended two other vehicles that had slowed down while heading into Lucan because of construction. One of the drivers suffered minor injuries.
41 year old Constable Jeff Walraven was knocked unconscious and was taken to hospital with serious internal injuries. He was since been released from hospital and has been formally charged.

This charge is near the top of the list for major highway offences in Ontario and the worst charge to deal with, it is a STRICT LIABILITY CHARGE. If convicted, the monetary penalty is a fine between $200 and $900. In addition a six month jail term or licence suspension for two years may be imposed. To make matters worse, there will most certainly be unpleasant consequences when your insurance provider is informed.

That is the bad news. The good news is that I have defended about 9 Careless Driving cases in the last few years and all were found not guilty. I will elaborate on the reasons why. Unlike speeding charges, for example, the burden of proof for a careless charge is quite high because it is an opinion based charge and quasi-criminal. Courts in the past have required that the concept of "mens rea" be present. Translated, it means a guilty mind which indicates someone intended to drive carelessly.

I have seen case law, from simple rear enders to motorists and pedestrians being killed. Yet the defendants were ultimately acquitted. In my cases, my clients were involved in rear end collisions, lane changes and in one instance, a pedestrian was struck. The deciding factor in these cases was whether the events fit the legal definition of careless driving.

Many Careless Driving Charges are laid because officers are not informed on the charge itself. Also, this charge is often laid as a bargaining chip so it can be pleaded down to a lesser charge. Prosecutors can convince an uninformed defendant that they are getting a good deal because of the difficulties in proving a careless charge. This creates the illusion of a win-win scenario for everyone.

If you ever get one of these charges, be sure to consult with an expert. Don't be too quick to plea bargain or accept such a recommendation without being informed. This doesn't mean all careless charges can be dismissed since each case is unique and should be treated as such. We never take these kinds of cases lightly, because a conviction will have extreme consequences in the future for the individual.

Demerit Points

A conviction carries six demerit points. Demerit points stay on your record with the Ministry of Transportation for two years from the date of conviction. A fully licensed driver with between 9 and 14 demerits points may be required to attend an interview before a ministry official to provide information or other evidence to show cause why his or her driver's licence should not be suspended.

The Ministry of Transportation may, after giving notice, suspend your driver's licence if you fail to attend the required interview; do not comply with the Ministry's requirements as a result of the interview; or do not show cause at the interview why your licence should not be suspended.

If you accumulate 15 demerit points, the Ministry will suspend your licence. You will not get it back until 30 days from the date you surrender it or two years from the date of the suspension, whichever comes first. After further demerit-point suspensions you may not get your licence back until six months elapse from the date you surrender it or two years from the date of the suspension, whichever occurs first.

The Mental Element of Careless Driving Charge.

Legislation does not assist as to whether or not means rea must be proved to secure a careless driving conviction. In R v. McIver, the court held that the crown needs only to prove that the defendant committed the prohibited act. The crown will try his/her best to get you convicted of this offense. You have to show that your used all the necessary steps to take care and safety while driving.

FOLLOW TOO CLOSELY - HTA- section 158

Prohibition on following another vechile too closely is covered by s. 158 of the Highway Traffic Act . This Section States:

158. (1) The driver of a motor vechile or street car shall not follow another vechile or street car more closely than is reasonable and prudent having due regard for the speed of the vechile and the traffic on and the conditions of the highway.

(2). The driver of a commercial motor vechile when driving on a highway at a speed exceeding 60 km/h shall not follow within 60 meters of another vechile, but this shall not be constructed to prevent a commercial vechile overtaking and opassing another motor vechile.(1).

In the context of a Dangerous Driving or Careless Driving case , the BC Court of Appeal had this to say about the offence of Following too Closely:

Driving without sufficient space behind the vechile in front creates a number of hazards. The view ahead is obstructed. That is particular so in a case like this where the vechile being followed is a large truck. Another obvious hazard is that there is insufficient stopping distance if sometjhing unexpected happened.. (2)

A breach of the statutory duty establishes a prima facie case of civil negligence.

I was issued a "RACING TRAFFIC TICKET"

Ah, the racing charge of HTA in Ontario. Well, we can thank the legislators for that, who with few strokes made this "vauge" word into law. Racing, is basically any rate of speed, where two cars are trying to have a " go at each other". I was in Hamilton, where a young man was with his lady, and he was in the most right lane in a Nissan 350 Z, and a Ford Mustang in the most left lane. There were two lanes between them, and the Ford was moving at a high rate of speed, while the other car was moving at normal speed. The distance from one STOP LIGHT to the next was about 30 meters. The ford was actually the one speeding, but the police stop both vechiles and issued summons to both on the pretext that they were in close distance to each other, and the distance they were trying to race was labelled as " Enough" to carry out their intentions.

TRAFFIC TICKETS IN GUELPH AND KITCHENER

Many citizens of these cities believe that if they hire a "Good Traffic Ticket Agent", they will be able to beat their Speeding ticket. NOT!! lets say in the last three years you had 2 speeding tickets and this is the third one, you are out of luck. These cities are extremely strict about these offenses, and they will NOT give you any deal or give you any break. Remember, do not speed !!!

We Win or it's Free!!!

Sure, this sounds really good to me !!! That is it, I am going to see this Traffic Ticket Agent, because they have the best ad and the best Money Back Policy.

This statement is the best statement ever made to con people into the door of the Traffic Ticket Office. Now, think for one momemt "how this will work with the court system"? This is a FALSE statement made by the paralegals who are out there to make a lot of money and give other paralegals a BAD NAME. There is no way in hell, that someone can say that without even entering the court room.

Maybe if the TRAFFIC TICKET AGENT finds a critical error in the ticket or the officer forgot to sign the ticket, the Traffic Ticket maybe thrown out. Many times, if the agent gets your fine reduced, that is also considered a win. Be wise and always go to the Traffic Ticket Agent that explains you the consequences rather than his " We Win or it's Free" ads. Always shop around, ask questions and try to understand what the Agent is telling you. In last few years, I have come to know, that the system in made to WIN and you to lose, why? Many legislations have been implement to make it a " Pro- Conviction System", meaning that most of the time YOU will lose, if you try to defend yourself in court. Get a GOOD TRAFFIC TICKET AGENT !!

I always tell my clients, that a good Traffic Ticket Agent will always help you to understand the issue and tell you the remedy.