Question:
Charged with two summons failing to remain at a collision I was involved in and a careless driving charge. The road was wet and I slid off the road when I hit some black ice. I hit a sign and had some damage to my car. No other vehicle or people were involved. Someone must have got my license plate because the police just showed up at my house later and charged me. Looks like I’m going to need some help here.
Response:
You have been issued two of the most serious offences under the Highway Traffic Act in Ontario. Careless Driving is a 6 demerit point offence and is issued under HTA s.130:
130. Every person is guilty of the offence of driving carelessly who drives a vehicle or street car on a highway without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the highway and on conviction is liable to a fine of not less than $400 and not more than $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not moret han six months, or to both, and in addition his or her license or permit may be suspended for a period of not more than two years. 2009, c. 5, s. 41.
Fail To Remain is a 7-demerit point offence and is issued under HTA s.200:
200. (1) Where an accident occurs on a highway, every person in charge of a vehicle or street car that is directly or indirectly involved in the accident shall,
(a) remain at or immediately return to the scene of the accident;
(b) render all possible assistance; and
c) upon request, give in writing to anyone sustaining loss or injury or to any police officer or to any witness his or her name, address, driver’s license number and jurisdiction of issuance, motor vehicle liability insurance policy insurer and policy number, name and address of the registered owner of the vehicle and the vehicle permit number. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 200 (1); 1997, c. 12, s. 16.Penalty
(2) Every person who contravenes this section is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not less than $400 and not more than $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both, and in addition the person’s license or permit may be suspended for a period of not more than two years.
The penalty section for both offences contain identical fines of $400 to $2,000 (plus the 25% victim fine surcharge), up to two years of license suspension, and up to 6 months imprisonment. Generally the insurance repercussions for a conviction of either offence, let alone both, would result in no longer being able to remain under a standard insurance coverage policy.
Given the severity of the offences and their related penalties, I would recommend contacting my office as soon as possible. You’re going to have a first appearance court date on the summons and we will have some groundwork to do in advance of that hearing. Your description of the events involved in the collision are fairly minimal. I’m going to have some very specific questions for you, but in the meanwhile you can collect together your thoughts and type out as detailed of a statement as possible for me to review with you.
If your matter makes it all the way to a trial, given the serious nature of the offences, I will want to have you present for the hearing whether or not you actually speak in the courtroom. Ideally however we can try to resolve the matter without the need for trial or the need for you to make a court appearance. Once we have received and reviewed the Prosecutor’s disclosure package we’ll know whether or not there is a sufficiently strong legal argument to simply have the charges withdrawn at that time. This would be our best-case scenario to simply have the charges withdrawn without the need for further court appearances. If not, we can set an early resolution meeting to sit down with the Prosecutor on your behalf to negotiate a potential plea deal to review with you.
Have You Been Charged With Failure To Remain Or Report A Car Accident In Ontario?
If you’ve been charged with failure to remain at a car accident or failure to report a car accident in Ontario you should contact us as soon as possible. We have skill and experience in helping drivers just like you respond to accusations of failing to report a car accident or failure to remain at the scene and provide free, confidential consultations to empower you to fight your charges. We help drivers throughout Ontario including Cambridge, Georgetown, London, Windsor and from our home office in Kitchener. Contact us online or call us directly at 1.844.647.6869 or text us a copy of your ticket to 226-240-2480.