OHTA.ca

Hello people! This is my first ever post on this board and I would have a few questions regarding my situation.

Last week, I was driving to work, from Ottawa to Alexandria on the 417, just like on any normal day. I saw a stationary police vehicle (OPP) on the side of the road and I didn't think much of it as this is a frequent sight during my commute. I kept on driving and several minutes later, all of a sudden, I saw the police vehicle driving in the left lane (I was in the right lane). I thought he would be passing me but he slowed down, moved to the right lane and turned on his lights.

This morning, I measured the distance between his initial location and the location where I was stopped just before the exit to Casselman, a total of 8 kilometres. He just said I was doing 132 km/h on his radar and that I have 15 days to select an option. He didn't reduce the ticket.

I've been driving 190 km on this route on a daily basis for 8 months now and never received a speeding ticket. However, I do have a prior ticket for holding a handheld device.

I plan on contesting this ticket and I'm sure I can at least get it reduced because the officer did not reduce my speed when he stopped me, but ideally I want to fight this until the end and go to trial.

That being said, I have not yet requested disclosure so I don't have a solid basis to comment but I am really curious as to how the cruiser could possibly catch up to me 8 kilometres later and be certain that I was the one car he is looking for. I remember reading about a case of someone who drove well over the speeding limit but won his case because the officer lost sight of him for a moment. Does anyone know which case I'm talking about?

If all else fails, I would at least like to extend the trial date as much as possible so that my insurance is not affected, and that would require that the trial takes place after October 2014.

I appreciate any help on this matter. I will post an image of the disclosure when I receive it.

What makes you think that was the same car that was parked to the side of the road?

I wouldn't make assumptions or speculations if I were you; you'll spin your mind in circles. Like everyone else after checking for fatal errors, filing for trial you are best off to wait until you receive your notice of trial and request disclosure. Only then, can you begin to form a reliable strategy.

The best thing you can do if you get a traffic ticket is to immediately take your own notes of every detail you can remember (weather, time, traffic conditions, officer's description/statements, what you did, what you said to the officer, any witnesses, etc.).