OHTA.ca

Was driving to Montreal Monday morning, it was raining on and off that day. I was just approaching Trenton when I caught up to a line of transport trucks. I hopped into the left lane and sped to pass them. It was mostly downhill so I was able to get to a high rate of speed without noticing it. By the time I pass all three trucks, I was going over 150 km/h. I went into the right lane and began to slow down when I noticed a black SUV parked perpendicular to the highway. It was OPP's finiest. I looked down at my speedometer was doing around 130km/h and was worry I would get pulled over. I slow down even more. Well as soon as I passed him, he came right after me. After following me for a minute to check my plates I'm assuming, he turned on his lights and I pulled over just before the exit to Trenton.

I figured he caught me doing around 130 km/h, however, he stated he got me on radar doing 153 km/h!! He even showed it to me on the radar gun itself. I was in shock he caught me.

Next thing I know, my brand new new car was being towed away. I called a taxi, got to a bus station and found my way home.

So the facts.

I was charged with 'Perform Stunt on highway by exceeding speed limit by more than 50 km/h (153 km/h in a 100 km/h zone) contrary to Highway Traffic Act 172 (1)'.

My license was suspended for 7 days and car impounded for 7 days.

The officer took my license away.

I had to appear in Belleville courthouse a couple weeks later.

Things people should know. The 7 day license suspension starts from the date and time on your ticket. So if you were charged on Monday 9:15am, you can drive again 7 days later next Monday at 9:16am. You don't need to pay to get your license reinstated. You can either wait for the Ministry to mail your new license or get a temporary from any MTO office.

The impound fees will vary according to how far they had to tow your car and the storage fees of the impound facility. Be prepare to pay $500-1000 to get your car back.

Since Sept 4, exceeding the speed limit by 50 km/h can not longer be consider a stunt under HTA 172. With that ruling in my hands.

I simply when to court on the date found on my Summons to Defendant, found the prosecutor (Fairman), asked him to amended the charge from stunt driving to speeding. He agreed. I went before the judge, plea guilty to speeding 50 km/h over the limit and now I'm stuck with a BIG fine, 6 demerit points, no further license suspension and soon to increase car insurance. At least I asked for 3 months to pay the fine+fees instead of the standard 15 days. No stunt driving charge for me.

I didn't have to hire a paralegal but I did get a lot of advice from my paralegal prof. I saved myself money from hiring a paralegal, but had to miss a day of work.

Also, while I was in court. There was another 3 defendants charged with stunt driving. The paralegals they hired got the exact same deal as me. No stunt driving charge just a speeding charge with no further license suspension.

Also, the prosecutors have the disclosures with them. You can ask to see it and review it before entering a plea.

The charge would have been dropped altogether.

Just curious why did you plea to any charge?

Were charged with both at the same time?

Cheers

Viper1