OHTA.ca

Hi

I am seeking for some help here.

I was driving towards Hamilton (westbound) on QEW today in the morning. I was quite a bit in a hurry since I had a presentation to attend and it was raining this morning so I had to drive my gf to work .

I was in a passing lane by myself (lone driver) and there was a car infront of me, BMW driving around 100~110km/h.

Since I am in a hurry, I wanted to go faster than 110km/h, I usually drive around 120km/h in a passing lane (first lane, closest to the left)

I was behind the BMW Car for about good 5 minutes. I tried to signal him/her that I am in a hurry by getting a bit closer to her or going left/right within my lane.

There wasn't enough space on the middle lane (1 lane right to the lane that I was in) for me to speed up and pass by the BMW car. But there was enough space for that car to make a lane change to the right to yield to me so that I can pass by him/her and she/he can merge back in.

I was getting a bit impatient since the person was driving slow for like 5 minutes or more and there were alot of space infront of that car, I couldn't see any car in front of that BMW.

In QEW, there is a hov lane (car pool lane) and when it changed to the strips (dash?) of line (from solid line) which means someone can make a lane change into or out of that car pool lane.

So I made a lane change to the left, and passed the BMW, and merged back into the passing lane on the right. I made the lane change successfully before the dashed line becomes solid line.

However, Police car I guess saw me doing that and I got pulled over.

I am not justifying what I did is right. I know I should have not used the car pool lane to make a lane change.

So I got the ticket worth of 85 dollars and with tax 110 dollars.

I am wondering if I should fight for the ticket. I am just a student who has lots of dept (osap) and I can't afford to pay the ticket that worth's about a month of my groceries. I am currently in coop term, and I have to save up lots of money (over 12k) to pay the tuition for next 8 months without getting more loan.

If I decide to fight for the ticket, what is the course of actions that I should take?

What should be my reason for reducing the ticket cost? Would the "i am student/poor/loan" be a good enough reason for me to get it reduced?

I appreciate your help. Thank you guys.

PS: I also read some of the threads in this forum. I guess I should take this ticket to the office written on the back of the ticket. and tell them I would like to take the option 3 (Trial option)

Then what do I do? ask for court dates?

and then would I write the disclosure form and send it to them? (just like what one of the thread says, with template)

if so, what kind of information would i ask other than

* A full copy of the officer's notes, typed if not legible;

* If short-form writing is used in the officer's notes, please have the officer provide an explanation for the short forms;

??

Thank you guys..

I would like to also add that in my ticket it says

improper use of HOV lane - lone occupant

Highway Traffic Act 154.1(3)

When you pick option 3, they will send a court date to you. Make sure you follow up if it seems like it's taken a long time for them to schedule it.

You may be able to get a reduced charge, or the officer may not show up.

As for your disclosure request, that's exactly what you should ask for. I think you're off to a good start here.

If you were not the lone occupant of the vehicle then that seems to be good grounds to fight the charge on. If you were then I think you committed the offence the moment you entered into the HOV lane, regardless of how brief a time you were in it for.

Radar Identified wrote:When you pick option 3, they will send a court date to you. Make sure you follow up if it seems like it's taken a long time for them to schedule it.

You may be able to get a reduced charge, or the officer may not show up.

As for your disclosure request, that's exactly what you should ask for. I think you're off to a good start here.

Okay Thank you for your reply. I think I will go to the office that is written on the back of the ticket and choose the option 3.

Is there a list of offices and locations in GTA area? The one in the back of the ticket is in Burlington. It is a convenient location for me as of now, but after few months (when court date comes), it will most likely be inconvenient place for me to go...

Simon Borys wrote:If you were not the lone occupant of the vehicle then that seems to be good grounds to fight the charge on. If you were then I think you committed the offence the moment you entered into the HOV lane, regardless of how brief a time you were in it for.

Does that mean I would have no chance of winning this...in court? and I should not take option 3?

I'd never say that there's NO chance, but the facts of this case sound pretty simple: you were in the HOV lane when you shouldn't have been. If the officer can establish this, there will probably be a conviction, unless there is something else you can say in your defence.

If the fine is the main issue, you may be better off pleading guilty with an explanation or seeking a plea deal with the Crown. For your charge, I would imagine a JP would be willing to offer you a reduced fine with time to pay if you articulate your financial situation. Your offence was brief, did not put other motorists at danger and no accident was involved.

I am not sure if my insurance will go up.. I am worried it might (would it??) if it does, i have to seek for a way to get it fully dropped..

I guess it would also depends on the police's notes when I ask for it in disclosure... I was thinking if her notes isn't in detail, maybe i can say that i changed the lane to hov lane thinking that it was ending (after next exit, hov lane ended..), and I realized It didn't end and change the lane back ?

if my insurance won't go up, i wouldn't mind taking a plea deal with the Crown..

No one can advise you whether your insurance will go up. It's always a case by case basis. Also, I wouldn't recommend saying anything that's not true regarding why you were in the lane. If you actually thought it was ending that's one thing, but if you were just impatient don't say you thought it was ending.