OHTA.ca

hi, i drove on dundas st earlier today, and i passed a streetcar before it stopped an opened the doors, the driver honked me , and when he came down the streetcar (shift exchange), he used his blackberry to take a photo of my license plate, and said that he would report me, i am wondering what will happen next?!

thanks

Probably nothing. If you have committed a Highway Traffic Offence, the driver can report that to a police officer and the officer, if he feels he has reasonable grounds to lay a charge based on the evidence provided by the TTC driver, can issue you a ticket or a summons to court for the charge.

That's the way it works in theory, but in practice it's not often done because in a situation like that, all you have is the word of one person against another, which is, not always, but often, hard to form good grounds with.

If he didn't photograph the act itself, there's not much proof that the officer can use. The TTC driver would have to attend court for the charge to stick, and even then, it's his word versus yours. He's not a "professional witness" like a police officer, either, so without a collision or other witnesses, the odds would be in your favour. That said, I highly doubt the Toronto Police have time to chase this one down, to be honest. You might get a phone call, but it's unlikely to go further than that.