imported_ShaneR21

Hey, I was on my way to Sparta tonight and me my friend in another car both got charged with careless driving. Section 130 of the highway traffic act. Has this ever happened to anyone, or know of what the concequences are? I heard it's like 6 points and around a $1000 fine. Damn thats gonna suck. Any info would be great. BTW I ran 16.1 in my 92si HB, only mod is no name intake. Thanks.

Shane

revhardSI

what did you do to get booked for careless driving??? best thing to do is get a traffic lawyer or your ****. what town or city??

imported_ShaneR21

Yeah, I was booked for careless driving. I checked and it is 6 points. I really dont want to go through trial and all that crap. The cop was following us long enough for me to know that I'm not getting off. It was an undercover malibu, blue, and I'm in London.

revhardSI

were you racing, tail gating or following to close be more specific. depending on your situation if you go to court you might get off the hook. if you dont take the chance of going through the court procedure if gonna mess you up big time. that why you heard most of these people on the board complainting about insurance hike.

cibs

then what do you want help with? find yourself a good *** lawyer, and be prepared to pay through the nose so you don't lose all the points and pay the whole fine..... that'll kill your insurance....

imported_ShaneR21

I was infront, and my friend was behind me catching up. Wasn't racing, just speeding and swerving in and out of traffic. Dont know how far over the limit I was, b/c I had no idea he was following.

PULOVR

Gee......that doesn't sound like racing to me.

What were you thinking?

Never mind......I don't want to know.

imported_echien

Yeah not all cops are jerks.

Sorry to say but it sounds like you might need to be a little more responsible.

imported_ShaneR21

Heres the gist of it all. I stopped for gas on Highbury, got up to the highway, seen my friend just putting along, so I passed him, that was the first lane change, kept going, never more then 140 in a 100, changed lanes again back into the turning lane, drove through the S bend off ramp and slowed down to 40-50kmh, then took it to the top of 2nd into third, now mabey doing 80 in a 50, went through the lights and over the tracks and seen the flashing lights. Thats what happened.

PULOVR

140 in a 100....and.......80 in a 50..........so what are you complaining about again?

imported_gatherer

and swerving in a out of traffic ... dude whats wrong here cop nailed you fair and square .... swerving in and out of traffic is a great way to cause an accident ...dude smarten up.

imported_ShaneR21

OK, swerving in and out of traffic is an over statement, thats what the cop said. 140 in a 100, $350 max and 4 points. 80 in a 50 is like $150 and 3-4 points. I was not swerving, I used my signal every time. Legally I am allowed to change lanes as many times as I want, as long as I signal every time. and, no matter what it sounds like, I was NOT racing, I was going to Sparta to do that.

I am not asking to be lectured here, I am not the best driver in the world, but I am by far not the worst. Regardless if I was speeding or not, IS there anyone here who has gotten off a carless charge, can you please give me some detalis about it and what I should be expecting to happen come trial time. Thanks.

PULOVR

First of all, none of us are "angels", but what makes the difference is that we understood what we might of did WAS wrong...........it seems that you think the speeding thing wasn't a big deal to you. That is what boggles my mind. I'm not here to lecture you, but I don't understand your reasoning? Using your singnal everytime doesn't make doing that speed leagal. I know cops that would of taken your car right there and then, impounded it, and the you would of had to pay not only for the towing, but also for the storage of the car (for around a month, that's how long it would take to get it back). You may not have been "racing", but it was the cop that decided that. Now you have to go to court and convince them otherwise.

Think about what they are going to hear....

1. two cars going in and out of traffic.

2. whatever the first one did, they other did as well

3. both were traving well above the speed limit


Exessive switching of lanes get's you noticed, it shows impatients. Also, no matter how careful you are, and no matter if you used your signals or not, getting around traffic faster than you are supposed to IS considered racing to a cop. It doesn't matter if you didn't consider it racing or not. Racing is not from a stand still only. How many times have you been on the highway and seen someone fly past you on the right/left side? You were indangering others on the highway, plain and simple.

I can't suggest what you should do, except to go see a good lawyer.



Goood luck.

Insuranceman, do you have anything to add to this?

Insuranceman

Well, you were driving careless so I don't know why your surprised of the charge .... If you do get convicted your insurance company has grounds to either:

1. Cancel your policy as a carless driving charge is pretty severe

2. Raise your premium to an amount where you'll basically be paying per year the amount your car is worth

They'll likely to #2 as Insurance Companies hardly ever say no to more money .... Most of the things already said in thus post are pretty accurate as to fighting the charge ... I'm by no means an expert on that end of it but take the other members advice and get a good lawyer

imported_ShaneR21

I changed lanes 2x, I understand that speeding is wrong, I can see that I should of got a speeding ticket at best. But the carelesss driving charge is whats really bothering me. Everyone is making this sound way worse then it was. On that particular part of the highway, there is an on ramp, and I never stay in the lane that the on coming traffic enters in, I got into the left lane until my turn was coming up, then I got back in the right lane and turned off. There is enough room to change lanes respectively. Really doesn't sound like swerving to me. Everyone You know cops that would take your car for doing 40km over? That is messed up. I pay $3000 right now for insurance, will be $3600 next year, if it hits $6000 or more, I'll park my car for 3yrs, work on it, and be driving a moped for 3yrs. We'll see what happens. But, it's not as bad as people make it out to be.

Liquid_Ice

Dude, then that is what you say. The cop will try and prove how carless you were and you have to show it was just speeding and even with speeding being wrong, that you were able to show that you were still able to show you were ( on some level ) thinking of not harming others through your actions. People speed everyday, you have to prove you are not much worse, and that you knew your surrondings. If the story is the way it went then you may hav e a reduced fine or charge, but I really don't think you will get off!

imported_94EG6HB

Tell it to the judge.

Get a lawyer.

Prepare to pay up the wazzoo.

$1500 - $2750 plus fines.

imported_ShaneR21

Me and my friend are going through Points, the guy said it will more then likely be dropped to a minor ticket, mabey 2 point and at best a $325 fine. Most careless charges are $325 fines. That I can handle, it's the insurance hike that goes with carless driving I'm scared of.

imported_kingrukus

Any updates?

civic-chick

several years ago i got a speeding ticket for 57 over. I was doing 137 in an 80 (yes I know thats excessive speed, but i was rushing because it was an emergency wth my horse...just so i dont get blasted) anyways it was like 2am, i was on HWY 2 between woodstock and london and this cop in a corn field entrance nailed me. Didnt even give me a ticket just said heres your court date. It was 6 points, 1000.00 fine and 30 day suspension. i went to court, fought it, and got 4 points, 500.00 fine and no suspension. But it wasnt a careless charge it was speeding. Anyways the ticket isnt the problem good luck with insurance. It was only this year my ticket came off my record, but i was paying 3500 a year ( with NO OTHER INFRACTIONS) and im a girl...
Anyways... my two cents. Im sure we have all done this at some point dont rip the guys head off...he made a mistake, hes asking for help not asking to be told again and again that he made a mistake.