“Failing To Stop At Redlight”

Hello,

Ticket: 144 / 18

Location: Barrie Ontario, intersection of Mapleview Drive and Hwy 400 off ramp.

Date of Ticket: Feb 25th 2011 @ 9am

Weather: Snowy/Raining roads were wet. Confirmed by weather report/historical.

Trial Date: July 7th 2011

Link to intersection - Googlemaps I was driving my kids to school and getting off the hwy 400 and preparing to turn on Mapleview E (left hand turn). The onramp is shaped like a long "S" and is long and decending towards the bottom. From the top of the onramp the view of the light is blocked at several points by trees and by a large hill. I was preparing to turn left and was slowing down. At the point of no return I saw that the light was Yellow, and due to road conditions I decided to proceed thru the intersection.

When I was past the intersection and halfway under the overpass, I heard the siren of the officer and saw him proceed thru the intersection. He was behind me, as he had come off the highway as well. (I had passed him as he was giving someone else a ticket as I was exiting the highway)

The light turned red while I was in the intersection. I did make it thru the intersection and under the overpass before the officer threw on his sireen and went thru the intersection.

Can I use the following defence? Due to weather conditions, the shape of the intersection I had reached the point of no return and decided to proceed thru the intersection on a Yellow.

I can prove weather conditions were infavorable with two independent weather reports along with one weather warning for our area printed on the day it was issues. I was slowing down for the intersection and did not speed up to "get thru" the yellow.

I didn't see when the Yellow turned to Red but I assume it was a split second before I crossed the intersection.

Do I have a case? I have yet to get the disclosure from the officer but it has been requested.

Should I try and get the ticket reduced? If so how would I go abouts doing that?

Thank you for your time.

Failing to stop for a red light is what's known as an absolute liability offence, meaning the only defence is one of necessity. You need to show that you went through the red light to avoid immediate peril and there was no other alternative. Not seeing the light in time and weather conditions won't work as a defence. Also, since you can't state exactly when the light changed to red, I would recommend you NOT give evidence at trial.

If you want to try fighting the ticket, your best strategy is to try and raise reasonable doubt, basically argue that the offence never happened. The Crown does still have to show beyond a reasonable doubt that you committed the offence for a conviction. When you get disclosure that should give you a good idea of how strong a case the Crown has.

Thanks for the information, I will wait to see what the disclosure says.

Do I have to request a first meeting?

No, you can request disclosure without attending a first attendance meeting. Still, might not hurt to have a meeting and see if the Crown will offer you a plea deal. If the evidence is strong, a plea deal may be in your best interest. If you're adamant about fighting the charge outright a paralegal may be recommended.