OHTA.ca

Hi, I recently got into an accident and I'm not sure whats going on right now, let me explain what happened first.

I was driving down hwy 117 and came to an intersection, I noticed the road sign on my right declaring which streets were which. I flicked on my right hand turn signal then realized immediately that I had to turn left and not right, so without my hand leaving the signal lever I changed it to left, and shorty thereafter began to reduce my speed (From 80 to 30kmph, and I didn't hammer on the brakes either so it took some time) . Now as I began making my turn I checked my mirrors, everything was good the guy behind me was still behind me and started turning left, about halfway through completing my turn the vehicle from behind me struck mine in the side just ahead of the wheel hub. So what happened was the guy behind me whipped out and decided to pass me on the left of this two lane highway while I was turning left, in a no pass area! Now I was pretty angry but whatever, I waited till the cops got there and he looked at everything got my story and the other drivers, then made his decision of saying the blame was on the other driver for trying to pass me in a no pass zone, so I'm not too worried. A couple days pass and then I get a phone call from the officer that was on scene, he's telling me that apparently his assessment of what happened was wrong and now I'm the one whose at fault. He tells me how he checked the highway traffic act over and over and even went to the crown to check it. So a day passes and then the cop visits my home and hands me a ticket, the tickets is for committing the offense of an improper left hand turn, The highway traffic act 141(6). Now I went and looked at that and it has me sitting here going What?! how did I preform an improper left hand turn? shouldn't this be the other guys fault for trying to pass me on the left in a no pass area while I was turning left? I don't see how I made an improper left hand turn, I slowed, I signaled, I checked my mirrors. any insight into my situation would be nice thank you.

Unfortunately the officer is probably right. The Highway Traffic Act requires you ensure any turning movement wont affect other vehicles. This includes ones overtaking you. Assuming the other drivers pass was legal, most of the onus falls on you. You said it occurred in a no passing zone, but what do you mean by this? Was there actual signs posted saying no passing? Or are you simply referring to the lines painted on the ground. If it was the latter, unfortunately they're just for reference and not legally enforceable.

The only bit of good news is that under insurance fault determination rules, the other driver will be considered equally to blame. In such a scenario, each driver is considered to be 50% at fault.

It may be worth consulting with a paralegal who's more familiar with case law surrounding your situation. You may be able to beat the charge in Court if you can show you exercised due diligence prior to making your turn, even if it resulted in an accident.