OHTA.ca

I was involved in an accident. I was travelling west on Richmond at Spadina in the far left lane. After the intersection I indicated and changed lanes. There was a cab in the right lane. As I changed lanes our vehicles collided. Some witness came forward on his behalf and I was charged with unsafe lane change. There is no damage to his car and very little to mine. The first time I went to court his witness were not present. I rescheduled so my passenger could be present.

Do I have a chance?

petermcleod wrote:Do I have a chance?

Based on what exactly? Unsafe lane change is a charge that applies whether or not there's an accident or whether or not there's damage. I don't know exactly what argument you plan on making, but it doesn't sound like you really have one.

petermcleod wrote:The first time I went to court his witness were not present. I rescheduled so my passenger could be present.

Terrible move. You should have just told them too bad, so sad, I want my trial. Trial can't take place without the witnesses and they would have had to let you off.

The witness that were not present were 2 passerbys who gave statements to the officer at the scene. Do they have to be present?

My defence is a page out of the drivers handbook about overtaking.

It states that once overtaken you must allow the overtaking vechile to pass. You cannot speed up.

That is my defence that the other car sped up as to prevent me from overtaking. The damage to my car is in the rear quater. There is no damage to his car.

The drivers hand book is not a legal rules document. It is a book with some rules and some suggestions on how to drive safely. The overtaking is not a rule but a suggestion.

You change lanes and struck a car while doing so. That is almost textbook unsafe lane change. There does not have to be any damage or collision.

The handbook will not be a defence. I have seen many people try and use it in court and the lose. It is not relevant as you were charge with a hat offensive and not a handbook offence.

Yes the witness will have to be there. They will receive a legal subpoena. So do not count on them not showing up.

Ops copper

petermcleod wrote:My defence is a page out of the drivers handbook about overtaking.

OPS Copper pretty much summed it up.

Open up a physical copy of the Ontario Drivers handbook and it will tell you "As you read, remember that this handbook is only a guide... For official descriptions of the laws, look in the Highway Traffic Act of Ontario and its Regulations...". The online version reads "This handbook is only a guide. For official purposes, please refer to the Highway Traffic Act".

You were charged under the Highway Traffic Act. The Drivers handbook is simply a guide. You can't defend yourself using the handbook because you weren't charged under the Ontario Drivers Handbook.

So the fact that the 2 passerbys were not there at the first trial only the driver,can the statements from those witnesses be used at trial?

The witnesses will need to be present or else their statements are inadmissable. Since you rescheduled, they can still testify if they show up on the new date. If you had forced a trial on the original date, the Crown would have had to proceed without their evidence.