“Accident And Ticket”

4 days ago, during the last GTA snow storm, I was merging to highway. The traffic was light and there was a truck moving in the right lane. I increased the speed but the truck accelerated as well and did not let me to enter the lane.

I had to slow down but my car skidded on ice and I hit the truck side by side. I was found at fault. Can I fight the ticket (unsafe lane change)?

Any advice appreciated

You should plead Not Guilty and request a Trial with the officer present. Once you get your Notice of Trial, then you can request disclsoure (officers notes). Once you get the notes, post them here so we can advise further.

As far as insurance goes, they will probably determine you to be at fault whether you are convicted of the unsafe lane change or not. Insurance determination of fault in an accident is completely seperate from any charges laid by police.

Fault Determination Rules

ON Regulation 668

https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/ ... uote]Rules for Automobiles Travelling in the Same Direction in Adjacent Lane

(4) If the incident occurs when automobile "B" is changing lanes, the driver of automobile "A" is not at fault and the driver of automobile "B" is 100 per cent at fault for the incident.[/quote]

I had something similar, car hit me on inside, 401, no cops but other party 100% at fault, wrote my car off and I got paid

thanks for the answers.

weather and ice won't be taken in consideration?

should i go to trail or request early resolution and plead guilty for lesser charge?

thanks again!

if i go for early resolution, can this charge be negotiated down?

do i need a legal assistance?

any advice appreciated...

Weather and ice will be given very little consideration. If it's icy then you are expected to slow down

nina wrote:weather and ice won't be taken in consideration?

You're supposed to drive according to the conditions. You admit to speeding up in an attempt to switch lanes and causing an accident when you couldn't stop in time. You can't have it both ways. You can't ignore the conditions and then blame the conditions when you finally get into an accident.

nina wrote:should i go to trail or request early resolution and plead guilty for lesser charge?

That's totally up to you. Your insurance provider isn't going to care either way. They are going to hit you with a chargeable accident surcharge whether you're convicted or not. Either they "forgive" your first accident (0%) or they charge you either way (neighborhood of 20%). Unsafe lane change is a minor offense according to your insurance provider. It can't get any lower. Maybe you get the charge reduced and the fine is a bit lower. It the grand scheme of things, it's not going to matter. Save $50 today, pay $1000 over the next couple years.

thanks a lot for the replays.

last question: i requested a trial. now can i pay the fine before the court date and cancel the request?

There's no harm in showing up for your court date and seeing what happens. Best case scenario is they drop the charge for whatever reason. While it's not likely, you'd save a bit on your insurance (e.g. 5%). Your provider would still charge you for the accident, however (e.g. 20%). The second outcome is they offer you a reduced charge. Your insurance would be impacted either way but you'd save some money on the fine. Worst case scenario is they offer you nothing and you just plead guilty.