Fighting a ticket.....?

On my 3rd time ever driving, I hit a PARKED car. Mind you it was parked where it shouldn't have been.

I turned the corner and the car was behind a bush and I just nicked the side and broke the light.. and my mums bumper.
The car I hit was brand new, they only had it a week and they estimated about $5000 for the light and dent in the front and the hole int he back because when I hit it it pushed into the car behind it and it had one of those hitches that went right through the bumper. But they were really nice about it, surprisingly. They Told us to join them for their lunch and asked if we wanted to use their house for anything, phone or bathroom or to get a drink. Which I think helped me because I was really upset about this.
Especially since I didn't want to drive in the first place.

After waiting for 3 hours for the OPP to show up, we called dispatch and they said we could leave, that an officer would contact us to come see our car.

They came out the next day and checked the jeep and talked to my mum and me. And I got ticked for careless driving ($325). But he told me I could fight it in court to maybe lower it.

I am not sure if I want to do this because I don't know what I am getting myself into... is it easy with one date and it's done or are they several court dates? I would really rather just pay the ticket and suffer the lost demerit points (as I won't be driving again anyway).

My mums never had an accident so she doesn't even know what I am supposed to do. I have like 13 days to make a decision anyway.


Ughh. I wish I never let anyone force me into this.

First of all i say you need to get back in the car and get practicing,
Secondly you can fight the ticket in court, but if you lose you will need to pay higher court fees. Assuming it is the same type of regulations to where you are. Accidents happen, and all you can do is learn from it.

I too hit a parked car during the first week of having my license.

I was really lucky in that the person's car I hit didn't want to get the police involved so I didn't get ticketed. We did report it to insurance and I did about $1500 worth of damage to my moms car, so I had to pay the deductible myself $500 (which is a lot for a high school senior).

Leslie

I hit a van right after I got my car and started driving, almost four years ago. When I was backing out of our little driveway at the house we lived in then, the van was parked on the side of the street, and there wasn't much room, and I was letting my car roll, and we felt it bump the other car. We got out and looked, and neither car had any marks or damage, and no one was outside, so we left and never said anything..

A family member of mine was able to attend driving school instead of paying a pricey ticket for rear ending a truck. Especially since you're very new to driving and it was just a minor incident, maybe there are some options like that? I can't remember if he had to attend the first hearing to make the decision to either pay, refute or attend the school. And I don't drive (phobic ), so I'm not totally sure how all of that works.

You might check on this website:

National Motorists Association

But you will be much better if you can get it reduced. That is an expensive ticket, and a serious charge. You don't want it on your license, if you can avoid it. It might even be worth it to get a lawyer.

I would contact one of those points companies and ask, especially if the car was parked where it xshouldn't be. But since you left before the police came it would be your word against theirs about the exact location.

Did you get any photos of it before moving the cars?

As a previous resident of Ontario, I will tell you that you are making a huge mistake to not fight the ticket. A careless driving charge on your license will make you uninsurable from most companies, and the ones that will insure you will only do so at an amount close to the value of your car, and this is true for something like 7 years. Also the # of points puts you dangerously close to losing your license which is not necessary after such an understandable accident. I have never known anyone who needed to go to court more than one date when fighting a careless driving charge. EVERY SINGLE PERSON I KNOW who fought it had the charges reduced...to things like..."unsafe exit of lane" (when speeding >50kmph over limit on a dirt road, losing control and flipping into ditch) or "unsafe left turn" (when turning on a red light, with a no left turn sign on it anyway!). The only person I know who pled guilty ended up with a $5000 insurance bill....Dont let this get you down. I mean, a very unfortionate lesson in the necessity of true defensive driving, but shouldnt hurt the rest of your driving career as it could have just as easily happened to someone on their 300th time driving.
Call Pointts. They will help you, and the cost is usually less than what you end up saving in fines.

I can't even afford to pay the ticket let alone court fees or fees for a lwyer or the people who help you.

The officer told me in the first place that he would have gave me a ticket for driving in the wrong lane or whatever instead, but it was a one way road with no lane dividers, so he couldn't.

And no pictures were taken of the cars before we moved them, BUT we had permission to move them by an officer over dispatch.

Thanks of rall the info.. but I still don't know what to do. I don't plan on driving in the furture, I never wanted to anyways but was being forced into it due to fairly good reasons. But I've lost 2 family members to car accidents and a close friend just 3 weeks ago(anyone in Ontario probably heard of the Ronalee Allen accident).. whether that has something to do with me not wanting to drive, I don't know.

What would I have to do in court, just state what happened or what? Like I don't understand it. This is one reason I don't want to fight it because I'll probably end up making it worse. Thats how life seems to be going lately. ha.

My grandma has offered to pay for the ticket and me pay her back, and that might be the way I have to go since I can't come up with that much money in time, unless I don't want to pay rent.

First, I'm sorry about your family members and your friend. And with the last accident only happening 3 weeks ago, that could very well be why you don't want to drive. I'll be honest with you, I HATE driving! Unfortunately, I live in the country and have to drive to work, the store etc. Even if you don't drive very often, it is good to get comfortable with it because you never know when there will be an emergency and you NEED to get somewhere when public transportation isn't available.

I'm not sure how it is in Canada, but in US careless driving is a one day court appearance. Here, you don't need a lawyer. You show up and the officer shows up. If he doesn't show, it gets kicked out and you don't owe anything. If he does, plead guilty (because you can't deny that you hit the car). The officer gives his story of what happened and then you can give your side. Explain that you just started driving, you're still real nervous, and the car was parked behind a bush and you didn't see it when you came around the turn. Normally, on first offenses (and especially new drivers) the judges here usually lower the fine and points. I think it would be well worth it to at least go to court and see if you can get it lowered. And, it sounds like the officer was pretty sympathetic so hopefully he will kind of give you a good spin on it.

And, don't feel bad. You hit a car that you didn't see. I once backed into a horse trailer! How do you miss a horse trailer?? We were at a farm, had just come back from a trail ride, and for some reason I thought this HUGE thing behind me was a dumpster. Don't ask my WHY I thought a dumpster would be at a farm. I didn't actually hit the trailer but the hookup for the trailer came down from the top and came through my back window shattering it. With 3 of my friends in the back seat! I didn't get charged because there was NO damage to the trailer or hookup, but it was a very long and windy ride home! Not to mention a very expensive back window. So, it happens to everyone.

My neighbor's son was driving with his dad, learner's permit, and didn't slow down quick enough at a stop light. He rear ended a police car. Our city requires all driver under age 18 to go to court for any driving offense.

I haven't got to many tickets but the ones I have got I have always fought in court. I have always been able to get the ticket knocked down to a lesser charge. I was always told to do this even if you did get caught speeding or whatever... I got a speeding ticket(which I was guilty) knocked down to a faulty headlight and a lesser fine. This is in the USA I don't know how they do it in Canada.

If I were you I wouldn't fight it!!!! I've been to several court hearings with people trying to fight their ticket. The outcome......they had to pay double and sometimes tripple what they should have paid if they had just paid the ticket.

One that comes to mind is when a young gal fought her $35 speeding ticket and walked out of the court room with a $250 bill!!!

My mom just got a reckless driving ticket for spinning her truck on a solid ice packed road. We were told even something like that would be useless to fight.

Originally Posted by EnzoLeya

If I were you I wouldn't fight it!!!! I've been to several court hearings with people trying to fight their ticket. The outcome......they had to pay double and sometimes tripple what they should have paid if they had just paid the ticket.

One that comes to mind is when a young gal fought her $35 speeding ticket and walked out of the court room with a $250 bill!!!

My mom just got a reckless driving ticket for spinning her truck on a solid ice packed road. We were told even something like that would be useless to fight.

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I don't agree with this. I've been in traffic court a lot over the last couple years as witness to an accident. (Long story I won't go into) I have NEVER seen anyone end up paying more than the original ticket.

Go to court. Before you actually see the judge, you will talk to the prosecuting attorney. He doesn't want to be there more than he has to, so he will cut as many deals as he can. And if he can avoid having you come back, believe me, he will. You do NOT want careless driving on your record.

As for never getting behind the wheel again, take some driving lessons. What is the old saying...If you fall off a horse, get right back on or you never will again. My neice let a friend's accident scare her off driving. Now she has to be driven everywhere and lost a job because she couldn't find someone to get her to work on time.

Originally Posted by Sweets

I don't agree with this. I've been in traffic court a lot over the last couple years as witness to an accident. (Long story I won't go into) I have NEVER seen anyone end up paying more than the original ticket.

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That's with all the court costs

Originally Posted by Sweets

I don't agree with this. I've been in traffic court a lot over the last couple years as witness to an accident. (Long story I won't go into) I have NEVER seen anyone end up paying more than the original ticket.

Go to court. Before you actually see the judge, you will talk to the prosecuting attorney. He doesn't want to be there more than he has to, so he will cut as many deals as he can. And if he can avoid having you come back, believe me, he will. You do NOT want careless driving on your record.

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This is very true. The DA will cut you a deal if you go fight the ticket even if your guilty. My exhusband was really good at fighting tickets. Thats how I learned to fight my own tickets.