Vida left a comment asking for help so I thought I’d post it here. If you have any advice please leave a comment for her below
Hello,
I am new to this site.
I had an accident and got “careless†ticket.
I don’t know what to say in court?
I was driving 70km on Gardiner Highway, at night, where I saw two cars ahead of me had stopped with no visible break light.
I applied my breaks but it was slippery, so I just slide for about 120 meters and hit the two stopped cars.
There was no way the cop would believe that the cars had already had hit each other. He claimed that I was totally responsible for the two cars’ damages.I need help, because I am innocent, really!
Thanks
Vida
wow that really sucks. firstly i would talk to a lawyer that specializes in traffic cases cause thats infinitely better advice. however my .02 cents is that the no brake lights means that you couldn’t reasonably forsee that 2 cars would be stopped on the highway (they must’ve been in a highway lane) if they were on a shoulder you might not be able to use that. If its not reasonably forseeable that something like that happens to you then you have no duty of care to those cars on the highway with no lights on. however if you were driving too fast for the conditions then you could be found at least partially responsible for the accident.
Definitely get a lawyer. Don’t worry about what the cops believed, they’re not the one who’ll make the final decision. You get yourself a lawyer and you’re chances of winning this are infinitely better.
I was somewhat in the same situation last year. I was at the end of a 5 car pile up on the Gardiner. The first three cars had already hit each other and the car I hit was just in result of that first accident. The cop said to me that he had to charge me with Careless cuz I was the last one in line. He also said that it would be too much work to try and figure who hit who and so forth. So I got the ticket for all 5 cars. I bought it to court and my father was a ex-cop and came with me. When I was in court we asked to have the charger drop to “following to Close”. They said we will wait and see what the cop has to say. Lucky for me he did not show up!! As well as no witness. So the charges were drop all together. It was as if never happened! So just keep your figuare crossed! I know I am not the only lucky lady out there.
Hi, I would say that you should hire a Paralegal for this matter. Lawyers will be too expensive and they will take too long to finish. I say, you contact few paralegals and gain some input from all of them. But, make sure you do not fall for those who say they will get rid of it, without even talking to you and gaining some depth to your case.
Call 1-866-999-9096. This compnay is located in Guelph, and I have used him few times. This paralegal is honest and right to the point. Hope this helps. Careless driving is a really serious charge.
Hi Vida,
Well its a standard thing that happens when police respond to the accident scene. I have been to court as a witness of an accident. The person I witnessed drove into a parked car, just didn’t give enough space. Him along with the other 10 people that were in court on charges of careless for different types of accidents, some had the charges dismissed others the crown arranged a lesser charge, and no points. Most ended up with a fine under 200 bucks and lesser charge under the traffic law.
Definately go to court and fight the charge, If you did everything possible, and if they did indeed have no hazard lights on, and you have a clean driving record the charges will likely be dismissed.
If you want to see what happens you can attend the court house before your day in court and see for yourself how the crown handles these cases.
Don’t let this get to you. You’ll be OK.
Penalties
A conviction for careless driving is punishable by a minimum fine of $200. The maximum fine is $1,000. If you’re convicted, the court also can suspend your licence for up to two years and even put you in jail for up to six months. Under a Provincial Offences Act regulation a victim fine surcharge of between 20 and 25 per cent is added to the fine.
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
The one thing that could not help you is that you said that you slide 120 meters after applying the brakes from 70 km/hr. Why were you driving at 70 on the gardner, the posted limit is higher, so was there weather or poor road conditions. All the information on the accident report at the reporting centre could help you or it could be detremental. The amount of damage done to the other cars, will also tell a story of what happened.
Hi – phone the Crown Prosecutor’s office ahead of time and tell them that you are willing to plea for a lesser conviction – like driving too close, unsafe whatever, the Crown will usually accept a lesser plea in advance of the Court date and you won’t even have to go to Court.
Careless is def not a good charge to have, basically on that situation they could of charged you with following too closely or careless, most cops will do the careless since its a higher charge and more points.
Honestly you rear end any vehicle, stoppped or not your walking out with either one of those charges, and quite often its the careless.
If you have enough disposable income to hire a lawyer you might have a chance at getting off of it.
OK Everybody looked at the date, this thread is two years old.