“Improper Vehicle Description On Disclosure And Improper Signage?”

Hello everyone, If anyone can offer some assistance to how I should proceed further, that would be wonderful. Thanks in advance.

I was traveling west on hwy 7 between Brock road and York/Durham Line. There is a little county(?), town(?) called "The Greenbelt". The speed upon entering said town, county, is 80km/h. There are 2 speed signs posted before entering "The Greenbelt". One said 60km/h begins, and also the other one says 60km/h. As I was coming down the hill traveling west, there was an person who walked into the middle of hwy 7 and started waving me onto a road/parking lot. He was so far away I could not tell that he was even an officer. Regardless, I pulled over as I approached him. As he walked over to me I saw 2 police cruisers parked along the road, hidden. I was apparently driving 82km/h in a 60km/h zone (he showed me the radar gun). I was kind of confused at first as I didn't know the speed limit did drop down to 60km/h at that location, so I asked him if he was sure. He didn't answer and took my information to the cruiser. He came back and explained to me that it is indeed 60km/h and that he himself was not sure as he does not work in this area often and he had to confirm with his partner.

The ticket he handed me was for driving 75km/h in a 60km/h zone. He did me a "favor" and dropped the 82km/h to a 75km/h he said.

Now, here are the issues at hand;

I revisited the location and noticed that the speed signs were incorrect. First, as mentioned earlier there were 2 60km/h begins signs. From my understanding, research, and visually comparing all other zones, there needs to be an "warning" sign, if you will, letting you know that the speed reduction is greater than 15km/h (ex. 70km/h - 50km/h). My offense was in June of last year and as of a few months ago they did change the sign to the appropriate "warning" 60km/h ahead sign. I called around and supposedly spoke to the guy in charge and he did confirm it was changed to the correct sign.

I requested an early resolution with the prosecutor but I had NOT received disclosure prior to the meeting. I called the court office and was told that he will have a copy there and I can review it. After sitting down with him for 30 seconds as he looked over my info/ticket, he saw the fine of "75km/h in a 60km/h" and said there is nothing more he could do for me. I asked if I could explain a bit of what happened regarding the signs. He gave me 2 minutes, cut me off, and said take 75km/h or go to trial. He then gave me a copy of my disclosure.

After reviewing the disclosure I saw a fatal flaw in it (or i think anyway). The police officer lists it being a bright sunny day, he had total vision of my car and under vehicle description it says I was driving an Silver BMW X5, when in fact I was driving a white Honda prelude!

Apologies for the long winded explanation but my court date is in about a week and I just want to know what my strongest defense should be, or what I should do. Thanks a lot!

There is no requirement under the Highway Traffic Act for speed ahead signs.

An officers notes will not contain fatal flaws.

They may contain mistakes, but it's up to you to point them out and make them relevant during a trial.

Notes are just there to refresh an officers memory, so do not put all your eggs in this one basket.

Thank you for your reply!

So, even if they catch you RIGHT at the first 60km/h sign (that is meant to be a warning) they are still able to get away with this?

Also, an incorrect vehicle description could of been "another car" as a defense could it not?

I appreciate your assistance and curious what route I should continue with as a defense.