“Careless Driving As Well As Parking,standing Signs”

I've got 2 questions and would really appreciate any feedback on this.

First.

In November 2007 after about 24 hours of no sleep I was driving on my way home, about 2 blocks away from home when I closed my eyes since I was very tired, I opened them when I was about half a second from hitting a car which was standing on the red light.

I rear-ended the taxi-cab in the middle lane.

On the left lane was a cop car on the red light as well.

The cops ran out of the car screaming at me yelling out *how much were you drinking and what did you drink?* After an explanation that I just fell asleep they still didn't believe me and asked me to do the breathalyser test which i passed (no alcohol)

On the way to the trunk to get some clothes since it's november and it's cold, one of the officers noticed a pocket knife in my back pocket. He asked me if that's a knife and started threatening me with charges on concealed weapon. He then took it away and didn't give me a ticket for it.

I did get however Careless Driving ticket which I have to fight later on this year I assume.

Now: what could I possibly be getting for this kind of situation ? I was not drunk or driving chaotically or anything like that....

(A friend of mine who appears to be a police officer, told me yesterday that last time he was in court, a guy with the same situation got 4 years license suspension as well as 5000$ fine)

Also, another question, a dispute which i got into with an officer today.

I came to a mall to drop off my ex, while we were saying good-byes a cop came over and literally barked at me to park my car.

I parked the car and came outside for a talk.

I was inside the car, with an engine running letting my passenger out of the car is all.

He said that it's a fire route and that i cant park there... I told him that I'm not parked, I'm standing, since I'm inside the car, belted and ready to move.

The guy started treating me like an idiot and started reading the *Fire Route* on the sign, at which point I also pointed out *No parking sign* on the very same sign, and I explained that I'm not parked, I'm only standing.

The guy told me to put the car on the same spot and see how fast I'll get a ticket. Said that the conversation is over and that's it.

I also have disabled parking permit (even though I'm a young guy) which is something I told him about, he said that he doesn't care and that I can't still stand there.

I'm just very curious as to who was right and how does disabled parking permit work exactly ? Where exactly can you park ? (Except those disabled parking designated spots)

Thanks a lot for reading this and replying hopefully. Appreciate it very much.

Brezerk wrote:I've got 2 questions and would really appreciate any feedback on this.

First.

In November 2007 after about 24 hours of no sleep I was driving on my way home, about 2 blocks away from home when I closed my eyes since I was very tired, I opened them when I was about half a second from hitting a car which was standing on the red light.

I rear-ended the taxi-cab in the middle lane.

On the left lane was a cop car on the red light as well.

The cops ran out of the car screaming at me yelling out *how much were you drinking and what did you drink?* After an explanation that I just fell asleep they still didn't believe me and asked me to do the breathalyser test which i passed (no alcohol)

On the way to the trunk to get some clothes since it's november and it's cold, one of the officers noticed a pocket knife in my back pocket. He asked me if that's a knife and started threatening me with charges on concealed weapon. He then took it away and didn't give me a ticket for it.

I did get however Careless Driving ticket which I have to fight later on this year I assume.

Now: what could I possibly be getting for this kind of situation ? I was not drunk or driving chaotically or anything like that....

(A friend of mine who appears to be a police officer, told me yesterday that last time he was in court, a guy with the same situation got 4 years license suspension as well as 5000$ fine)

Also, another question, a dispute which i got into with an officer today.

I came to a mall to drop off my ex, while we were saying good-byes a cop came over and literally barked at me to park my car.

I parked the car and came outside for a talk.

I was inside the car, with an engine running letting my passenger out of the car is all.

He said that it's a fire route and that i cant park there... I told him that I'm not parked, I'm standing, since I'm inside the car, belted and ready to move.

The guy started treating me like an idiot and started reading the *Fire Route* on the sign, at which point I also pointed out *No parking sign* on the very same sign, and I explained that I'm not parked, I'm only standing.

The guy told me to put the car on the same spot and see how fast I'll get a ticket. Said that the conversation is over and that's it.

I also have disabled parking permit (even though I'm a young guy) which is something I told him about, he said that he doesn't care and that I can't still stand there.

I'm just very curious as to who was right and how does disabled parking permit work exactly ? Where exactly can you park ? (Except those disabled parking designated spots)

Thanks a lot for reading this and replying hopefully. Appreciate it very much.

On the first one, get a lawyer.

The second one, remember everyone wants to get to their destination too. If you're dropping someone off, fine but make it quick. Thats just my point of view.

Reflections wrote:The second one, remember everyone wants to get to their destination too. If you're dropping someone off, fine but make it quick. Thats just my point of view.

Drives me mental everytime someone in the right lane, and I am following behind them in traffic, when they stop to let someone out, and then they sit there talking or the passenger gets out and then leans into the window and talks with the driver. Don't they realize they are holding up traffic?

I believe in the 5 second rule. If you don't move within 5 seconds of a light turning green or dropping someone off, or whatever, I'm on the horn.

I wasn't on the drive way... i was in the mall parking lot....there was enough space to fit 3 more cars next to me, I wasn't holding the traffic in any possible way...

I'm also looking for the law side on this subject not personal opinions.

When I was done talking to cop, he left to another side of the mall and ignored showing up next to me for at least half an hour because there were a lot of cars actually (Parking, exiting the vehicle and walking to the store) in the exactly the same location where I was just dropping off the passenger.

When I left, he walked back to the spot and yet have not told a single driver of any vehicle to move away from the fire route zone..

He was a complete jerk towards me for absolutely no reason whatsoever except may be me looking young is all.

Whether a vehicle is parked, standing, stopped or whatever the case may be and not in the designated painted lines (car parking stalls) it all comes down to common courtesy for other motorists.

Whether there are signs posted or not, where vehicles are intended to be in a moving motion it is rude and ignorant to just stop there for your convenience when someone won't walk 50ft into a business!

******************

Just looked in the online dictionary

parked = pulled over and parked next to the curb, stopped

standing = cessation of motion; halt or stop, become stagnant

stagnant = Not moving or flowing; motionless

I just got a parking ticket yesterday. Was always wondering what happens if u claim u never got it on your windshield,which means you have never been served which means you cannot be convicted...but something tells me that doesn't apply to parking tickets otherwise everyone would claim they never got them))) Anyone has any knowledge on that subject, what laws apply here??

i mean it might as well be true, as a prank someone could just take it off the windshield and one would never know he had a ticket.

the situation was silly, i parked, payed for 45 minutes, got back in an hour and a half. There's no way to pay on the way back as well as there's no way to get change if you left earlier then you paid for. Yet you still get a full 30 dollar ticket. To request a trial you have to appear in person - why? - jsut so you don't request a trial, cheaper to just pay the ticket.

shmeli wrote:I just got a parking ticket yesterday. Was always wondering what happens if u claim u never got it on your windshield,which means you have never been served which means you cannot be convicted...but something tells me that doesn't apply to parking tickets otherwise everyone would claim they never got them))) Anyone has any knowledge on that subject, what laws apply here??

i mean it might as well be true, as a prank someone could just take it off the windshield and one would never know he had a ticket.

the situation was silly, i parked, payed for 45 minutes, got back in an hour and a half. There's no way to pay on the way back as well as there's no way to get change if you left earlier then you paid for. Yet you still get a full 30 dollar ticket. To request a trial you have to appear in person - why? - jsut so you don't request a trial, cheaper to just pay the ticket.

I once got a ticket for parking in a snow removal zone......while parked on my front lawn. I ticked fight on the ticket and never heard anything back.

Anyway, if you didn't pay enough at the meter then just pay the ticket and next time put an extra 50 cents in. You could request a trial, did you take pictures etc. It's only thirty bucks.

Reflections wrote:

shmeli wrote:Anyway, if you didn't pay enough at the meter then just pay the ticket and next time put an extra 50 cents in. You could request a trial, did you take pictures etc. It's only thirty bucks.

I probably will pay as the place is 100km away from where I live, they work Mon - Fri just like I do, so there's no way I can appear in person to request a trial plus I was guilty anyways. Was just curious what my options are plus I still believe it's not fair as I don't mind to pay for parking, I did pay for half the time just have to guess every time or pay extra. I pay enough "extras" in my life already.

It looks like they don't need to prove anything, just your license plate is enough to make you liable:

207. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the owner of a vehicle may be charged with and convicted of an offence under this Act or the regulations or any municipal by-law regulating traffic for which the driver of the vehicle is subject to be charged unless, at the time of the offence, the vehicle was in the possession of some person other than the owner without the owners consent and on conviction the owner is liable to the penalty prescribed for the offence. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 207 (1).

Would probably be a good defence to ask them to prove that I was the owner of the permit on the dash, as in my ticket it says "permit expired" but that permit doesn't have the plate numbers on it as required:

Permit holder deemed owner

(3) For the purposes of this Act or any municipal by-law regulating or prohibiting parking, standing or stopping, the holder of a permit as defined in section 6 shall be deemed to be the owner of the vehicle referred to in the permit if a number plate bearing a number that corresponds to the permit was displayed on the vehicle at the time an offence was committed unless the number plate was displayed thereon without the holders consent, the burden of proof of which shall be on the holder. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 207 (3).

The "permit" in question is your license plate. So, unless you can prove someone else parked the car there and you majically found it.....

I do hear you on the "pay enough already" part though.

Back to my parking ticket))

So on the http://www.toronto.ca/parkingtickets/#poa they I've read the following:

So, lets say I pretend I never recieved a ticket, they convict me and send me a notice. Further I pretend I never got that notice - they add 20$ fee on top of that. Then, when the time comes to renew my plates the dany me. Thats when I find out that there's a parking ticket and a fine. Based on the fact that I never saw any tickets and never got any notices and conviction was reached in my abscense and without my knowledge, what are my options here. Can I appeal or do something at this point??

The idea is, lets say a renew my plates now while there's no record. Next time I renew my plates in 12 months, that means 12+ months passed since the conviction and they failed to serve me. There should be some law I could use to drop all the charges based on the time passed since conviction??

shmeli wrote: To request a trial you have to appear in person - why? - jsut so you don't request a trial, cheaper to just pay the ticket.

More and more courts are doing this...thumbs up to them. There is so much wasted time for people just checking the "not guilty, trial option". Courts then have to process paperwork, issuing officer has to submit notes...for only the person NOT to show in court. I think I average 10% show rate from people wanting to challenge the offence. The above procedure probably just clears out the ones that have no intention of showing and causing undue paper work for all!

What about these people who have to travel over 1 hour just to appear in person? Not everyone gets a ticket near their homes.