OHTA.ca

Hey guys, first time poster here, any and all advice will be appreciated!

Story:

2 weeks ago, 7:50 am, sunday morning, on my way to windsor on 401west out past london. Road conditions were not good, very slushy and patches of unplowed snow. Was in the fast lane no traffic at all around me, was having a heated conversation with my passenger and i guess i must have lost track of my speed. My passenger noticed an undercover in the right most lane slowing down to the right side of the road and warned me. I instantly began to slow down and probably passed the cop around 120km/h. Cop pulls off from side of the road and enters the fast lane right behind me. He starts to tailgate me as i drop to 110 and move to center lane thinking he wants to get by me. He put on the lights, pulled me off to the side of the road. The cop came around to the passenger side and asks for paperwork and asked me if i knew my speed. I replied i didnt realize i was speeding and i was having an important family conversation with my passenger. The cop replied that he could now charge me with distracted driving as well and asked if i wanted to try answering the question again. I apologised and said i was honestly sorry and just didnt realise i was speeding. He informs me that i was doing 143km/h on the highway. He goe back to the cruiser and returns after a bit and says he's cutting me a break and is reducing it to 120km/h in a 100km/h. Set fine is $95. Already sent in the ticket for a trial option.

Are OPP known to show for court?

Any suggestions or thoughts on what to do here?

OPP officers definitely show up for court, especially if they have multiple charges the same day. Many times the same officer will have pulled over multiple cars that day for similar offences so the same trial date is often used for all defendants from that shift who requested a trial. This avoids the officer having to attend court multiple dates. However, you should also know that there generally are a lot less officers on shift in an OPP detachment, compared to the regional/municipal police, so if the road conditions are particularly bad on your court day, OPP officers are more likely to be called out to deal with serious accidents (and incidents in more remote areas) due to there being less available officers--so getting to court on time for them may be more difficult, then say, a regional/municipal officer. After all, each OPP detachment usually has a larger geographic territory to be responsible for, compared to regional/municipal officers. So, naturally, OPP officers are a bit more spread out across the area.