HOW TO BEAT A STUNT DRIVING CHARGE IN ONTARIO
How to beat a stunt driving charge in Ontario? An excellent question. I think to answer that question, we want to think about the history of the charge and what that means. History is a funny word because when we’re talking about stunt driving, I think of it as relatively new legislation.
Legislation for under highway traffic or even under the criminal code are many years old. This is, I would guess, about 15 years old. Stunt driving sort of showed up. It passed, and here it is. During its brief history, the penalties for stunt driving have only increased. They’ve become more strict, they’ve become greater, and the consequences to your insurance have also suffered.
We deal with a high volume of this type of charge, and beating a stunt driving charge or getting out of it is probably the single most important thing that we do when representing a client on such a thing.
We have to be aware of the current legislation. We have to do a very thorough review – an intense – review of the disclosure. Disclosure is, as you may know, a copy of the case against you. The cases for stunt driving are usually dealing with speed. They are usually very technical. There are many things that go into being in a position where the crown can actually convict of stunt driving.
An interesting point about stunt driving is the difference between a speeding ticket and stunt driving. Now, most of the stunt driving tickets that we see are derived from speeding. Speeding, in previous videos, I’ve told you what an absolute liability offense would be, which is speeding, and how strict those are. So it’s not as strict as an absolute liability, but it’s the basis for a stunt driving charge being a stunt driving charge.
So what happens in a courtroom as these things are proceeding to trial, oftentimes there is this automatic thought, this current of conviction, like the stunt driving was a speeding ticket under the absolute liability regime. And it’s something that needs to be pointed out at the right time, the right moment with the right law to curb what may happen here.
And we’ve been very successful in picking the moment, picking the time, showing the case and saying: “look, your honor, I have a point to make here. This is not an absolute liability case. This is not a speeding ticket. There should not be an automatic conviction for something like this. There is room for mistake.”
People make mistakes, and under the normal regime, those mistakes ought to be listened to by a judge, ought to be considered. We have been, I’m proud of this, very successful in pointing that out and being successful and keeping these things off our client’s record so that they save thousands of dollars. And in some cases, one comes to mind right now, where my client actually saved his career by being in a position to time these arguments and know what to say in a courtroom at the perfect time.
Please consider what I’ve said. Please consider that this is a serious matter that requires someone who really ought to know what they’re doing to help you. Please give us a call. Be glad to take a look at your case.