Question: I was going east on Lakeshore Blvd., and at the Carlaw Ave. intersection traffic light FLASHING, so I made a U-Turn heading west.
Stopped by police and charged under HTA 143(b)
Fine $ 110 and 2 merit points taken
There no ” NO TURN ” sign that was posted all the way back to Cherry Street.
Also on the ticket the officer also missed the last alphabet “K” from my 8 digits car plate number.
DO you it worth fighting for the ticket ?
Gregory Cheng
Answer: The outcome on a case like this will likely be all-or-nothing. Either the charge will be withdrawn/dismissed or it will go to a conviction at the end of a trial. The error with the licence plate number will likely not be a problem for the Prosecutor. The section you are charged with states:
“143. No driver or operator of a vehicle upon a highway shall turn the vehicle so as to proceed in the opposite direction when, […]
(b) on a railway crossing or within 30 metres of a railway crossing;”
If you were within 30 meters of the railway crossing, then the Prosecutor may be able to get a conviction at trial. There may however be other issues with the Prosecutor’s case that could lead to the charge being dismissed. The only way to know would be to file the charge for a trial date and obtain a disclosure of evidence from the Prosecutor’s office. If you would like to contest the charge, you can speak with one of our staff via our toll-free number 1-866-801-8299.
Greg Currie
Office Manager, London