“142 (1) - Unsafe Right Turn”

Hey Everyone,

I just got a ticket for $110.00 for making an "unsafe turn" according to the Officer.

Since this is my first offense, I am quite shaken up, especially since the officer was yelling at me. I'll attempt to recall what happened accurately.

I'm at a red light with my right signal on and I check my right then my left. I see a white car in the distance (looks about 6-8 car lengths away) and was going speed limit. I make a turn to the right and I suddenly hear a loud honking. That had me dazed a bit but I had my left signal on by then because the plaza I wanted to turn into was probably about 10-12 feet away from my initial position. I completed my turn and then I suddenly see flashing lights. I come to find out that the honking was from a police officer.

Now, the encounter was an interesting one. The officer trotted up in anger yelling at me saying that I must be "kidding him." He claimed to have his lights on (which he did not according to the person I was picking up from the plaza) and that I made an unsafe turn. Outside of that, I can't remember much of what he said because he kept yelling at me. I didn't say anything else after that. He just handed me my ticket and sent me packing.

Now I'm looking at option 2 which has me pleading guilty and "make submissions as to penalty." From my understanding, I can have my penalties waived entirely. What worries me most is the demerit points. I wish I could just get off with a warning of some sort. Is there anything I can do?

By the way, the fine is a pain in the buttocks. The only way I can pay for it is by using my OSAP money, which is meant for rent, bills, and food. I only work 5 hours a week and that only equals to $50.00 and that is also for food and sometimes for some luxury. $110.00 is a major hit to my pocket especially since I pay $125.00 insurance a month (since I'm a second driver under my mother's car).

I think the whole issue is that I misjudged the oncoming vehicles speed. The speed limit is 50km/h and I judged it to be around 60km/h. Unfortunately, the car, according to a witness, was around 90-110km/h, which is a fatal error on my behalf. As such, it seems obvious that I made an unsafe turn. I just simply wish to see if I could do something to some how waive the cost or demerit points. Or should I just forget about it and pay the fine and learn from my mistake?