OHTA.ca

It was a green light , a truck began to turn left, as i began to passed and he hit me. I swerved in time so that he hit my rear driver side.

After they cleared the wreckage, the officer gave me a ticket for careless driving based on a "independent witness".

I was too stunned to do anything at the time. My car is beyond wrecked.

From my understanding ANYONE going straight has the right of way. If its a red light, its 50/50. mine WAS NOT a red light for certain. 100% but regardless, any help would be good please and thanks.

Careless driving? You'll need to find out exactly what that "independent witness" saw. When you get a trial date, you can file for disclosure and get the officer's notes, as well as the collision report. That should tell you what this witness supposedly saw.

I'd still recommend getting some sort of professional help with this particular charge. It's very serious.

FYI - if you disobeyed a traffic signal, even if you were going straight, you are 100% at fault (Ontario Fault Determination Rules) for insurance purposes. However, if you were not able to stop in time for the amber light, and you were otherwise driving a reasonable and proper speed for the conditions, then that would not be disobeying a traffic signal. There's also a difference between "fault" and the Highway Traffic Act. Police do not use the Fault Determinaton Rules to decide who to give a ticket to - or at all. They charge based on the HTA. It is possible to be charged by police in a collision, but be 0% at fault according to the Fault Determination Rules. They're two separate pieces of legislation.

Just out of curiosity, what was the speed limit on that road?

Which way was the truck and other car were going in relation to your vehicle? (If you could explain it such as you were headed north, truck was headed south turning east) Plus add on the interserction, a lot of posters use google to see the intersection to understand the layout to assist you.

thanks

HB

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