OHTA.ca

On March 9-11, During a snow storm in the GTA, I was operating a large snow plow /sander (Highway unit)

I started following a car, at a low speed 40kph, 45kph, All of a sudden the car stoped,

I was approx 4-5 car lenghts/ or 1 span of hydro poles apart , from him.

I applyed my brakes and slid a bit on a small angle, I corrected it.

The rear of the truck went into the other lane about 2 feet if that, At that time a car behind me slid in me, His slide marks were approx 35/40 feet.

I was charged with following to close to the car in front of me, I did not hit him or came cloes to him, He did a stop a go, He was not there when the police showed up..

The company thet i work for is going to takt it to court, But what should i expect??.

I have been driving for 29 yrs, 15 comerical, 2 yrs A-Z,

I have 0 demerit points, on my abstract and cvor

Thanks

You got rear-ended and YOU got charged with Follow Too Closely??

I'm assuming that the company you work for hired a paralegal or lawyer who deals with traffic charges. The main question is, what did you say to the police when they arrived? That will be critical. Otherwise, "follow too closely" would be very difficult for them to prove if you had not hit the vehicle that was in front of you (which you didn't). Depending on what you said to the police, they'll either fight the charge outright (and will probably win, if they're worth their salt), or, they will likely plea-bargain to a lesser charge of Fail to Turn to Avoid Collision (2 demerit points).

That said... follow too closely is very subjective, and, like I said earlier, without a collision (where you hit someone/something in front of you), it's very difficult for the Crown to prove. Being rear-ended is proof that the other driver was following too close (or driving too fast... or not paying attention), but really not proof you did anything wrong.

I'm thinking the OP might mean the vehicle that struck him was in the adjoining lane, not directly behind him. If the involved vehicle was directly behind him, I don't think the charge would go anywhere in Court.

In that case, either Careless Driving or Lane Change - Not in Safety would be the correct charge, IMO. "Follow Too Closely" isn't supported by what the OP said either way.