“Driving While Under Suspension”

Quick run down of my situation: My liscence was suspended in early September for a DUI. Got caught driving last weekend on the 401. Officer claimed I was pulled over because she figured I was speeding and I looked suspicious because I was looking around in the car too much. She searched the entire car looking for weed - none was found. I was charged with driving while under suspension.

The reason why I was driving was because my friend who was supposed to be driving my car was unable to due to working a 12hr midnight shift the night before. He began driving and was falling asleep at the wheel about 3 hours into our trip. I felt that it was unsafe for him to continue and took over with the intentions of finding a safe place to pull over and park the vehicle for a few hours so that he could rest up and continue driving.

What I am wondering is can I argue the reason for being stopped was not sufficient enough since their was no speeding ticket issued and I was not commiting any other traffic infractions ? Or is suspicion enough to pull me over based on my checking the rear view mirror too frequently ?

Also, can I argue that I was put in a position of peril by my friend, which forced me to make the decision to drive for fear of my own safety ?

This might be treated as strict liability, so as long as you can establish that any reasonable person would have done what you were doing, you should be able to get off (as long as you score a JP who understands the concept). Read into ticketcombat.com as it's a great resource to help you learn about the process.

Will do. Thanks for the info.

Police don't a reason to stop you. Under the HTA they can stop you to check if your license and other paper work is valid.

Request Trial, Request Disclosure, read TC's site and wait to see what turns up.

so, based on the above comment......it will be a Justice of the Peace and not a Judge, correct ?

Correct. Please accept my sincerest condolences and hopes that you get one who accidentally picked up the knowledge to interpret the law properly.

hmmmm.....so chances are not good ?

They're not particularly bad, but it's a crapshoot. If you present a good due diligence defense, you should be home free as long as you come across a reasonable JP. I've mostly had experiences with good ones, but it's a purely political appointment with minimal training. One JP (I'm pretty sure it was in Sudbury) was retiring, so his secretary got his job. I also had one who convicted me even though the ticket was invalid, so the paralegal I was dealing with was forced to appeal the conviction.

Is ticket combat .com the best place to learn about strict liabilty ? From what I have researched so far I don't know how this will help me....it appears to hurt my argument.

I really think it applies in your case:

This is the defence of due diligence and it is one of the most potent weapons in your arsenal.

To argue due diligence, you must show that you took all reasonable care to avoid committing the offence.

Your friend was operating the vehicle. The operator of the vehicle had a condition which made him a hazard. You just took over to get to the rest stop where you could safely pull over while the driver dealt with his condition. If that's not due diligence, I don't know what is.

In case of an Absolute Liability offence, the general practice is "you did it, you're guilty." Technically you couldn't exceed the speed limit to save your life as it's an absolute liability offence.

FiReSTaRT wrote:hopes that you get one who accidentally picked up the knowledge to interpret the law properly.

"Ain't that the truth!"

FiReSTaRT wrote:

Your friend was operating the vehicle. The operator of the vehicle had a condition which made him a hazard. You just took over to get to the rest stop where you could safely pull over while the driver dealt with his condition. If that's not due diligence, I don't know what is..

Pulling to the shoulder (where the persons "alledgedly changed positions) and stay there. If an emergency still stay on the shoulder and use a cellphone to call for help. No phone, this was on a large hwy, start waving at people, put hood up and 4 ways on....calls come in instantly all the time.

Knowingly driving while under suspension further the insurance is now instantly VOIDED

hwybear makes a good point. Something I had not considered at the time. I'm wondering if it seems reasonable that those options did not cross my mind at the time ?

Just wanted to clarify... in the other thread you mentioned you were charged with Drive Disqualified. Was it the Criminal Code charge Drive Disqualified or HTA Drive while Suspended?

If it's Criminal Code... get professional legal help ASAP!

Ya, it's the criminal one. I sort of misunderstood the difference at first. I've learnt a few things in the past few days. I've already started inquiring into assistance already.