OHTA.ca

Yesterday I got charged in my gym's parking lot (PRIVATE PROPERTY), and was told they followed me in since they saw me on my phone earlier. I was parked when the officer came up to my window. Was I on my phone? Yes I held it to talk on speaker since I was just pulling in. What evidence do they have? I don't know but I'm hoping someone can help me with the whole private property defense.

I was very obedient with the officer as I am an army reservist so I automatically do the whole yes sir spiel. I don't know if he had a body cam since I was in shock, he told me to drive safe at the end I said "no excuse sir" which is an automatic reaction for me. The problem is I don't know whether to challenge this in court or do early resolution with the prosecutor. I am going to university come fall in a very difficult program for which I worked very hard, I have alternating school and work terms for which it's imperative I can drive.

I am a 17 year old male. Getting my G2 in the fall, also need to pass my DND404 military driver license. If my license gets suspended I can only hope ill be able to pay for the insurance with the help of my parents. My life like many revolves around self transportation. I don't care about the the fine, I care about my insurance.

Would the suspension be view able on my insurance forever? Would they only see it next year when it renews? Does it last 3 years like demerit points?

You have a right to see the evidence they have against you. In order to do this, you need to plead NOT GUILTY and request a trial with the officer present. Once you receive your Notice of Trial, then you can request disclsoure (a copy of officers notes). The officers notes are what they will testify in court and will have all the evidence. You can not decide if you can beat it until you see the disclosure.

Most likely they saw you on the phone before you went onto private property, so then they can follow you on and still give you ticket.

student wrote:Yesterday I got charged in my gym's parking lot (PRIVATE PROPERTY), and was told they followed me in since they saw me on my phone earlier. I was parked when the officer came up to my window. Was I on my phone? Yes I held it to talk on speaker since I was just pulling in. What evidence do they have? I don't know but I'm hoping someone can help me with the whole private property defense.

It doesn't quite work like that. It's not like a video game where you pull into an area and the police can no longer follow you. You've admitted to holding the phone while pulling into the lot. Holding your phone while driving is enough for a conviction, whether it's on speaker phone or not. You'll be convicted if you repeat this same spiel in a court room.

student wrote:I don't know whether to challenge this in court or do early resolution with the prosecutor.

There's not much they can do for you at an early resolution with this kind of charge. You wont lose anything by going though.

student wrote:Would the suspension be view able on my insurance forever? Would they only see it next year when it renews? Does it last 3 years like demerit points?

It's on your driving record for life, but an insurance provider isn't going to go that far back. They'll pull a 3 year abstract and go from there. If you switch providers, they may ask you for your prior history behind 3 years. Your provider can get your abstract whenever they want, but they aren't going to check it every week either. Technically, you're supposed to tell them about it. Demerit points last two years, not three, but you're not going to have any points from this.

bend wrote:

student wrote:Yesterday I got charged in my gym's parking lot (PRIVATE PROPERTY), and was told they followed me in since they saw me on my phone earlier. I was parked when the officer came up to my window. Was I on my phone? Yes I held it to talk on speaker since I was just pulling in. What evidence do they have? I don't know but I'm hoping someone can help me with the whole private property defense.

It doesn't quite work like that. It's not like a video game where you pull into an area and the police can no longer follow you. You've admitted to holding the phone while pulling into the lot. Holding your phone while driving is enough for a conviction, whether it's on speaker phone or not. You'll be convicted if you repeat this same spiel in a court room.

student wrote:I don't know whether to challenge this in court or do early resolution with the prosecutor.

There's not much they can do for you at an early resolution with this kind of charge. You wont lose anything by going though.

student wrote:Would the suspension be view able on my insurance forever? Would they only see it next year when it renews? Does it last 3 years like demerit points?

It's on your driving record for life, but an insurance provider isn't going to go that far back. They'll pull a 3 year abstract and go from there. If you switch providers, they may ask you for your prior history behind 3 years. Your provider can get your abstract whenever they want, but they aren't going to check it every week either. Technically, you're supposed to tell them about it. Demerit points last two years, not three, but you're not going to have any points from this.

So they may ask but I don't need to tell them correct? From what I understand no matter what abstract they pull from the MTO (except restricted driver record) HTA demerit points and suspensions are only seen 3 years back (source: https://www.insurancehotline.com/checki ... n-ontario/ )

Will this license suspension make me a high risk driver already? I'm worried about getting insurance right after the end of my suspension, are they notified right away if i'm convicted and loose my license?

student wrote:So they may ask but I don't need to tell them correct?

If you move insurance providers and the new provider asks "Have you been convicted of an offense in the last 5 years?", yes, you'd have to answer as truthfully as possible.

If you're convicted today, your policy requires you to notify the provider of any changes that may impact your coverage. A conviction would impact your coverage. Your rates are based on risk. Although, this is something practically everyone chooses to ignore. It's possible that if an accident happened your provider would choose to deny you coverage, but I don't recall hearing of any instances where this has happened.

student wrote: From what I understand no matter what abstract they pull from the MTO (except restricted driver record) HTA demerit points and suspensions are only seen 3 years back (source: https://www.insurancehotline.com/checki ... n-ontario/ )

If you are pulled over by an officer, (there are officers here who could give you an exact answer) I believe they'll have full access to your driving history. If they ask when they last time you were convicted of a driving offense, it's best to answer truthfully than to assume your conviction has vanished within the last 3 years.

For surcharge purposes, your insurance provider will use the last 36 months. If you change providers, they may ask you beyond that, but that doesn't mean they're charging you for it. There are certain situations where the 36 months don't apply. Insurance fraud would be one of them.

student wrote:Will this license suspension make me a high risk driver already? I'm worried about getting insurance right after the end of my suspension, are they notified right away if i'm convicted and loose my license?

I extremely doubt you'll be considered high risk. While being a G2 driver with a conviction for handheld driving isn't the most ideal situation, it's still considered a minor offense by your provider. Even with a G2, I doubt it'll put you over that line.

bend wrote:

student wrote:So they may ask but I don't need to tell them correct?

If you move insurance providers and the new provider asks "Have you been convicted of an offense in the last 5 years?", yes, you'd have to answer as truthfully as possible.

If you're convicted today, your policy requires you to notify the provider of any changes that may impact your coverage. A conviction would impact your coverage. Your rates are based on risk. Although, this is something practically everyone chooses to ignore. It's possible that if an accident happened your provider would choose to deny you coverage, but I don't recall hearing of any instances where this has happened.

student wrote: From what I understand no matter what abstract they pull from the MTO (except restricted driver record) HTA demerit points and suspensions are only seen 3 years back (source: https://www.insurancehotline.com/checki ... n-ontario/ )

If you are pulled over by an officer, (there are officers here who could give you an exact answer) I believe they'll have full access to your driving history. If they ask when they last time you were convicted of a driving offense, it's best to answer truthfully than to assume your conviction has vanished within the last 3 years.

For surcharge purposes, your insurance provider will use the last 36 months. If you change providers, they may ask you beyond that, but that doesn't mean they're charging you for it. There are certain situations where the 36 months don't apply. Insurance fraud would be one of them.

student wrote:Will this license suspension make me a high risk driver already? I'm worried about getting insurance right after the end of my suspension, are they notified right away if i'm convicted and loose my license?

I extremely doubt you'll be considered high risk. While being a G2 driver with a conviction for handheld driving isn't the most ideal situation, it's still considered a minor offense by your provider. Even with a G2, I doubt it'll put you over that line.

Yes, most (not all) officers can access a full convictions history , as well as licence , suspensions, address and vehicle histories.