OHTA.ca

Hey guys,

I was driving to class and I got pulled over on hwy 6 just after I got off the 401. I was running late for class (I had a test) and the highway was dead empty so I was definitely going over the speed limit. The OPP officer was stationary on the grassy strip that separates the two sides of the highway and pulled me over as soon as I passed him. I was very surprised when he told me that his radar clocked me at 144 km/h but I got a ticket for "Race a Motor Vehicle - Excessive Speeding" regardless. Also got my car impounded and license suspended for 7 days. My first appearance in court is tomorrow, does anyone have any advice/tips for me? Assuming that I was going 144 km/h, will it help my case that I was on the "highway" and by myself (not zig zagging through traffic)?

Specific Information:

- Clocked going 64 km/h over the speed limit

- This is my first ever driving related offence

- I have my full G license

BGenesis wrote:does anyone have any advice/tips for me?

Pray they offer a plea of 49km at some point. If so, you should probably take it and run.

BGenesis wrote:Assuming that I was going 144 km/h, will it help my case that I was on the "highway" and by myself (not zig zagging through traffic)?

If they'll consider offering you a plea deal, it might help that you weren't charged with anything else and you've got a relatively clean record. Other than that, it's meaningless.

I've never gone to court before, any tips on how to talk with the prosecutor? From my understanding, he/she gives you your disclosure and you get at most 3 minutes to talk to the prosecutor until they move on to the next person. How can I make the most out of these 3 minutes? What are some things I should say.

So your court date tomorrow is NOT your trial. It is a summons date. You will have the following options:

(1) Plead guilty to the charge and be done with it (highly NOT recommended).

(2) Plead guilty to a plea deal charge that is offered to you by prosecutor. If they offer you 49 over speeding, then this is probably your best option.

(3) Tell them you would like to see disclosure (officers notes, radar manual, photos/video/etc) before you decide how to plead. In this case they will set another summons date, which again is NOT your trial date. You would have to come back on this next summons date and then tell them you want to set a trial date (so this option requires an extra visit).

(4) Tell them you would like to see disclosure (officers notes, radar manual, photos/video/etc) and will be pleading not guilty. They will set an actual trial date for you.

Your charge is a SERIOUS offence for insurance purposes and will cause your rates to skyrocket if convicted, or your insurance may even cancel your policy.

A speeding 49 over charge is considered a MINOR for insurance and may cause a small increase but is MUCH preferred to the alternative serious charge. The prosecutor usually meets with everybody before court starts, so you can nicely ask if they would be willing to drop the charge to "speeding 49 over" and you would plead guilty to that.

If they say no to your request, then you should choose (3) or (4) that I mentioned above. If you go with one of these options, scan and post the officers notes once you get them so we can comment on them. If it proceeds to trial then you may want to hire paralegal to fight it because of seriousness of insurance consequences.

What is the specific section number that you were charged under?