“Careless Driving Charge”

Advice would be welcome,

I was driving on highway 7 on a day when it had been raining, though wasn't at the time, going under 100 when while going on a bend in the road, I wafted out onto the gravel at the side of the road, and overcompensated for that by doing a hard turn back- which put me over the oncoming traffic lane (no one was there thank goodness), and then swung hard BACK in the right side of the highway...only to go into a ditch- the car flipped over. Luckily no one was harmed at all in this accident, though I consider it to be quite serious, the car is totalled. I was charged with careless driving, though the officer did tell me that he was able to talk to witnesses who told him that I was not driving aggressively, speeding, weaving in and out of cars etc. The fine is $500 and 6 demerit points. I am on a learners permit, so this is extra prohibitive to the future of my driving. I do not think I was carelessly driving, but would chalk it up to my inexperience. My experience with driving is sufficient enough that myself, and the owner of the car could not have reasonably thought that this type of accident could occur, or I never would have been driving with my loved ones in the car.

I am still pretty shaken up by the accident (occurred 10 days ago) and have no plans to get into the drivers seat anytime soon as it was a bit of a traumatic event, however, I don't want to close any doors to myself in the future and checked off the request a trial (option 3) on the back of my ticket. Option 2 for this particular ticket was one to plead guilty, but ask to reduce the fine.

Can I have any advice on where to proceed, as well as, how I would at this point ask for an early resolution or a plea bargain? ( I have never gotten a single ticket before).

Thanks

lampridae wrote:Advice would be welcome,

I was driving on highway 7 on a day when it had been raining, though wasn't at the time, going under 100 when while going on a bend in the road, I wafted out onto the gravel at the side of the road, and overcompensated for that by doing a hard turn back- which put me over the oncoming traffic lane (no one was there thank goodness), and then swung hard BACK in the right side of the highway...only to go into a ditch- the car flipped over. Luckily no one was harmed at all in this accident, though I consider it to be quite serious, the car is totalled. I was charged with careless driving, though the officer did tell me that he was able to talk to witnesses who told him that I was not driving aggressively, speeding, weaving in and out of cars etc. The fine is $500 and 6 demerit points. I am on a learners permit, so this is extra prohibitive to the future of my driving. I do not think I was carelessly driving, but would chalk it up to my inexperience. My experience with driving is sufficient enough that myself, and the owner of the car could not have reasonably thought that this type of accident could occur, or I never would have been driving with my loved ones in the car.

I am still pretty shaken up by the accident (occurred 10 days ago) and have no plans to get into the drivers seat anytime soon as it was a bit of a traumatic event, however, I don't want to close any doors to myself in the future and checked off the request a trial (option 3) on the back of my ticket. Option 2 for this particular ticket was one to plead guilty, but ask to reduce the fine.

Can I have any advice on where to proceed, as well as, how I would at this point ask for an early resolution or a plea bargain? ( I have never gotten a single ticket before).

I can make absolutely no sense of your opening sentence???

Thanks

I can't really see a defense for speeding on a wet road. Maybe try for just the 20 over speeding ticket.

Get discloser and see if the cop wrote down any of what you said here to him/her.

It really sucks when you total a friends car.

Luck with it. I hope you take another driving lesson or two before trying that again.

Cheers

Viper1

hawaii wrote: I can make absolutely no sense of your opening sentence???

Hey, sorry- it was to say, i was driving, there was a bend in the road, and the road was wet, i was going probably about 90 km/h- then i totaled my friends car)

Certainly don't plead guilty to the charge as it stands. At the very least request a first attendance meeting and see what type of plea deal is offered.

I'm not sure what your chances of fighting the actual careless charge would be. While you're not expected to drive with perfection, your initial mistake followed by a serious over reaction would probably fall below the expected standard.

If you want to fight the charge outright, I'd hire a professional to represent you. They can review the case and determine if you have a reasonable chance of winning in Court. If you're content with a plea deal however, you can probably work something out yourself with the Crown. I can see them offering you "Leave roadway not in safety - Sec. 142" which is a 2 demerit point offence. The total fine is $110 but they might ask for something higher.

Stanton wrote:Certainly don't plead guilty to the charge as it stands. At the very least request a first attendance meeting and see what type of plea deal is offered.

I'm not sure what your chances of fighting the actual careless charge would be. While you're not expected to drive with perfection, your initial mistake followed by a serious over reaction would probably fall below the expected standard.

If you want to fight the charge outright, I'd hire a professional to represent you. They can review the case and determine if you have a reasonable chance of winning in Court. If you're content with a plea deal however, you can probably work something out yourself with the Crown. I can see them offering you "Leave roadway not in safety - Sec. 142" which is a 2 demerit point offence. The total fine is $110 but they might ask for something higher.

Excellent advice, gotta find a way out of the careless charge.