“Careless Driving - Minor Collision”

I got into an accident in June when I was driving home after getting supplies for a school project.

It was night time and raining, so I took a smaller route back home. I got into an accident as I was turning right onto another street. The intersection the accident happened on was right on top of a steep hill. When I took the turn, I felt the car sliding towards the outside and I applied the brakes to try and control the car. Unfortunately, the wheels locked up and I slid into another car which was waiting to turn left onto the street I was on. I was being followed by an off duty cop and she called an on duty. I was charged with Careless Driving. The officer told me to fight it.

My parents insist that I do not need legal representation and I should fight it on my own. However, I'm starting to think a plea for a lesser charge would be a better idea. Is there any chance I can win at all? What would be a plea that I could be offered by the prosecutor?

One more thing, the officer himself specifically told me he would not show up, and I payed for the damages of the other car's owner so they are not going to show up either.

Dont count on the officer and witnesses not showing up. If you request a trial, they will be summonsed to Court and are legally obliged to attend. Police especially dont have the option of simply not showing up without a legitimate reason or they would be in neglect of duty.

In terms of plea deals, turn not in safety, section 142(1) sounds like a good fit for what happened. 2 demerit points and normally a $110 fine.

This issue has been raised in a number of recent threads so I'll repost my article on whether police officers actually have to show up in court.