OHTA.ca

So i was travelling westbound on the 401 between Guelph and the highway 8 exit in Kitchener tonight. I was in the right lane travelling behind a slow truck that i wanted to get past. Traffic was heavy as it always is during rush hour. I saw a sizeable gap in traffic coming up in my rear view mirror so i began to pre pair for a lane change. I checked my mirrors, looked in my blind spot, signalled and began to enter the middle lane. I'd say i was 95%-100% in the middle lane when a car sped by straddling the left and middle lane(he was changing lanes into the middle lane as well). I did not see a signal and i swerved to avoid contact but because i was so far into the middle lane i didn't want to swerve out of it to my right in case there was a car beside me. Anyway we had a slight collision doing minor damage the the front left side of my car and the right rear of his.

Now i got his drivers license but didn't get his insurance, i asked for it several times and he ignored me. I wasn't going to debate it with him on the side of the 401. I also took several pictures but the one i took of his license plate didn't turn out. So all i have is a drivers license.

The first words out of his mouth where "what were you doing?!" so he's laying the blame on myself. Again i'm not going to debate this on the side of the 401 with him so i just went along but never admitted fault.

So questions:

It's his word against mine, there were no witnesses. Am i safe to assume this will turn out to be 50/50 fault?

What am i likely to be charged with if and when i report it?

He didn't seem to want to use insurance but left me with the impression that i would be covering the bill.... also he didn't offer me his insurance and didn't provide it when asked. Does this sound odd to anybody else?

And last but not least when i report it how much grief will they give me for not getting his insurance and plate?

1) If you're both in the process of changing lanes, it would likely be 50/50 fault. It would depend on what the police report says.

2) Again dependent on what determination the investigating officer makes. Change lane not in safety, 142(1) would be a possible charge. It carries a $110 fine and 2 points. But they could lay no charge, or something entirely different.

3) Odd and illegal. The Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act requires you share this info with other motorists if involved directly or indirectly in an accident.

4) You made a reasonable effort to obtain the info. Not your fault he wouldn't give you his insurance info. Probably would have been best to write down his plate, but honest mistake. The main issue will be if it's a reportable accident (injury or $1000+ damage), why didn't you report it right away as required? If it is reportable, do this ASAP! The charge of failing to report is very serious.

Stanton wrote:1) If you're both in the process of changing lanes, it would likely be 50/50 fault. It would depend on what the police report says.

2) Again dependent on what determination the investigating officer makes. Change lane not in safety, 142(1) would be a possible charge. It carries a $110 fine and 2 points. But they could lay no charge, or something entirely different.

3) Odd and illegal. The Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act requires you share this info with other motorists if involved directly or indirectly in an accident.

4) You made a reasonable effort to obtain the info. Not your fault he wouldn't give you his insurance info. Probably would have been best to write down his plate, but honest mistake. The main issue will be if it's a reportable accident (injury or $1000+ damage), why didn't you report it right away as required? If it is reportable, do this ASAP! The charge of failing to report is very serious.

Thanks for the reply,

I've taken tomorrow afternoon off of work so i can go take care of this. The damage isn't more than $1000 on either car. Correct me if i'm wrong but don't you have 24 hours to report it to the reporting centre? Also when i report it i don't want to get anybody in trouble so should i leave out the the fact that he with-held insurance? I just want to get this over, not get somebody in trouble who's having an equally bad day.