“Careless Driving Incident”

Let me start this off by saying I'm a new driver (got my G2 around June). Anyway, I was taking a left turn at a yellow, got t-boned and as a result automatically at fault. (I don't personally believe this but don't feel like disputing that now). Damage was pretty big, both cars are going to get written off but, no major injuries. There was one witness who BARELY saw what happened but apparently it was good enough for the cops. Got charged with careless driving so I have a couple questions and want a best/worst case scenario breakdown of this, if possible

1) When I fight this in court, what can I possibly expect to occur? Is there a high chance of me still being charged with careless driving, or could it be fought down?

2) Insurance rates, what's a reasonable estimate for how high its going to go? (I know it depends on the company but a rough estimate would be nice)

That's pretty much it, thanks for your help, much appreciated

If you seek early resolution, they might drop it to left turn not in safety. Personally, if you feel that you were driving properly, I'd hire a professional and try and win the case. Having an at fault accident is bad news but add a Careless driving charge and your insurance will be one step below someone who drinks and drives. Making it cheaper to take a cab everywhere you go.

tk17.93 wrote:

That's pretty much it, thanks for your help, much appreciated

Just so you are aware, you are a novice driver who falls under novice driver sanctions. Careless driving comes with a 6 demerit point penalty. Since it is a single offense carrying 4 or more points, your license will be suspended for 30 days. It's something to consider if by chance you are offered a plea deal for a charge with less than 4 points.

Alright, thanks for the answers guys. I had one more question though, how do the cases usually work in court? Does the witness have to show up? And what happens if they don't?

tk17.93 wrote:Let me start this off by saying I'm a new driver (got my G2 around June). Anyway, I was taking a left turn at a yellow, got t-boned and as a result automatically at fault. (I don't personally believe this but don't feel like disputing that now). Damage was pretty big, both cars are going to get written off but, no major injuries. There was one witness who BARELY saw what happened but apparently it was good enough for the cops. Got charged with careless driving so I have a couple questions and want a best/worst case scenario breakdown of this, if possible

1) When I fight this in court, what can I possibly expect to occur? Is there a high chance of me still being charged with careless driving, or could it be fought down?

2) Insurance rates, what's a reasonable estimate for how high its going to go? (I know it depends on the company but a rough estimate would be nice)

That's pretty much it, thanks for your help, much appreciated

1) If you fight this in court you will be defending yourself against the original charge of Careless Driving. You will either win or lose. If you are willing to plead guilty to a lesser offence prior to the trial then you will not be fighting it. You will be agreeing that you did the offence offered to you. This will change the wording of the charge down to whatever you and the prosecutor agree on. If you don't agree you can still go to trial on the original charge. You can probably expect the prosecutor to offer something like Turn - Not in Safety, or Left Turn - Fail to afford reasonable opportunity to avoid collision. Will lower the points down from the 6 it is now, and whatever you agree on for the fine. Some will want you to agree on the fine and put forward a joint position to the Justice, others will just tell you what they are going to suggest to the court and let you make your own submission toward penalty and let the Justice decide.

2) Kinda hard to say, you will have to check with your company, all companies are different.

Good Luck

tk17.93 wrote:Alright, thanks for the answers guys. I had one more question though, how do the cases usually work in court? Does the witness have to show up? And what happens if they don't?

If the officer didn't witness the collision then yes the witness will need to be there. The prosecutor will not proceed with the case or allow you to plead guilty if they can't proceed so just deal with the prosecutor as though they are going to have the witnesses. If you play games with them about whether the witnesses are there or not you are just going to piss them off and cause more problems for you. I have seen prosecutors that are ready to offer a deal if the witnesses show up and the defendant was taking an attitude with the prosecutor about discussing with them prior to court and when the witness did show up they had no interest in making the offer to the defendant anymore. Assuming that you don't have a rediculous record the prosecutor is probably going to give you a satisfactory deal if you want to accept it.

insurance rates.. well assuming that they keep you and don't cancel your insurance (which they probably will) you can easily see your rates trippling. So if you're paying $400/month expect $1200/month +