“Following Too Close Without Accident”

So this morning on the way to work I was pulled over. the officer said i was following the pick up truck ahead of me too closely which i clearly had a good 3 car lengths between us. I hate tailgaters and i dont do it because i know how annoying this is. anyways he said something like he couldnt count 3 seconds in between and said he wont argue with me gave me a ticket and left. I am furious I am a very cautious driver and obey the law and i get this ridiculous ticket, what justifies this??? I had a very safe driving distance when the cop put the cherrys on the truck had suddenly stopped to pull over thinkin he was gonna pass both of us and I stop in time keeping my distance with ease. fellow co workers who came in at different time said they saw the same cop with 2 defferent cars pulled over 5 minutes before me and another 5 minutes after, so this tells me he was literally giving out tickets to meet quotas. So i am pleading not guilty should I hire a representative or is this charge the joke I think it is more less a drop down charge for careless. I cant believe 4 points for this joke! anyone with advice please let me know Im still confused on how the cop justified I was following to close. I am a very honest person and if I were following to close Id say ya I was riding his ass! But I was far from it! thanks

craign wrote:, so this tells me he was literally giving out tickets to meet quotas. . I am a very honest person

If you were so honest you would not ASS-U-ME what an officer is doing unless you know for a fact. There are no quotas. There also could be more than one cruiser in the area stopping cars, and one drives away, then it would look like that same cruiser stopped another, when it in fact hasn't. I average 9 minutes per stop. If it is one officer, that might be a hard worker, rather than a slacker! I want my tax dollars on the worker!

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Careless Driving is actually a higher offence.

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You are obviously challenging this by your statement, when you receive disclosure, read it over, then decide on a paralegal!

What section is that under?????

Reflections wrote:What section is that under?????

Headway

Headway of motor vehicles, generally

158. (1) The driver of a motor vehicle or street car shall not follow another vehicle or street car more closely than is reasonable and prudent having due regard for the speed of the vehicle and the traffic on and the conditions of the highway. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 158 (1).

Headway for commercial motor vehicles

(2) The driver of a commercial motor vehicle when driving on a highway at a speed exceeding 60 kilometres per hour shall not follow within 60 metres of another motor vehicle, but this shall not be construed to prevent a commercial motor vehicle overtaking and passing another motor vehicle. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 158 (2).

Just interesting facts here. Got from the Michigan State Police from cruiser testing.

Average braking distance to a complete stop for

100km/hr (60mph) = 42m (140ft)

Takes an average of 8m/sec (27ft/sec) to slow down.

Therefore takes 5.25sec to come to a complete stop from 100km/hr.

Other info"

100km/hr = 28 metre travel per sec

80km/hr = 22 metre travel per sec

50km/hr = 14 metre travel per sec

So guess that is where the 2 sec rule comes in 28m/s x 2 = 56 metres following distance, which would allow you to stop in the 42m. But this would have to be someone alert and ready to brake! If not alert, a driver has just travelled another 28m closer to the point of impact in 1 second.

I've heard this rough formula, that is the length of braking travel in metres roughly equals 1/2 of your speed in kilometres per hour, that is if you are going 100 KMH it will take about 50 m to stop (that ties with 42 m to stop + reaction time to press the brake). Just a good short way of measuring your stoppage distance. Works for cars only.