“Help? Careless Driving But No Accident Clear Road”

Hey guys

So today as i was coming home from class i took this route i never usually take and i was driving like 73 on a 60 zone

not realizing that it was a flashing 40 zone *road was mostly clear* and then down the road i suddenly hopped on the left lane from the middle lane right before the light and made a left turn into a parking lot. This cop comes to the lot about a minute later and aggressively told me to pull over and approached me literally screaming at me. i told her I'm sorry and explained that when i made the sudden left turn i had checked my blind spot and my rear view before making the turn. *No oncoming traffic either*

She comes back with a careless driving ticket because of my record i guess. Then she ends up telling me not to pay it and take it to court?

by definition careless driving means "Driving without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other users of the highway." , i however

did look and make sure there was nobody there and all. plus I'm not even sure if i was caught on radar?

*btw not realizing i was speeding and making that left turn with caution, i had no clue why i was being pulled over. i didnt really think i did anything wrong.

Im planning on taking this to court but what do you guys think of this? i just wanted a little feedback, I've read a lot of great answers on this forum.

Thanks! (Burlington ON) on Uppermiddle road.

So you need to get disclosure (copy of officers notes) before you can decide how to fight it, because we don't really know the reason the officer gave you the Careless Driving charge until we read her notes.

So plead Not Guilty and request a trial with the officer present. Once you get your notice of trial, ask for disclosure (copy of officers notes). Once you get the notes, post them here so we can review.

In the meantime, I would read some caselaws on careless driving so you understand what they will have to prove to succeed. It is a harder charge for police/prosecution to prove, so what they will sometimes do is offer you a plea deal to lesser charge, when in fact if you had fought the full careless charge you would have won. On the flip side it is a serious charge and will cause your insurance rates to sky rocket so you don't necessarily want to lose because you tried to fight it but did not know what you are doing.

jsherk thanks a lot! Its funny that many of the educated review i had read and liked were all coming from you!

Thanks a lot for your contribution!!

by the way, so i shouldn't choose option 2? To speak with a prosecutor?

In my opinion, early resolution (in most cases) is a waste of time. In your case they may not even have disclosure yet at early resolution so they would not be in a position to drop it if the officers notes do not support the charge. So I would not choose option 2 if it was me.