If you’re involved in a car accident, careless driving is one of the most common charges you could be charged with.
According to the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, careless driving is when a vehicle driver’s lack of attention affects their driving “without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons.” Drivers charged with carelessness can be charged between $400 to $2,000 for the incident, face maximum imprisonment of six months or receive a license or permit suspension of a maximum timeframe of two years.
Also, if convicted, your driving record will be dinged six demerit points, which can affect whether you keep your license or not if you have other violations on your record. Drivers also face a hike in their insurance rate, which could affect your rates for up to three years or in some scenarios, the company will not renew your policy, according to InsuranceHotline.com.
Careless driving charges can be laid in a wide range of scenarios from rear-end collisions to fatal accidents. But they’re different from dangerous driving charges, which is considered a criminal offence.
In late July, a 50-year-old man was charged with careless driving when his vehicle hit the daughter of the Conservative Party president while turning. The girl died from severe head trauma. The driver remained at the scene of the accident and was devastated by the accident, police told the Toronto Star. He will appear in court on September 8.
In another case, a teenager pled guilty to careless driving after the SUV he drove broke through the guardrail on Lake Shore Blvd. E. and plunged the vehicle into the Don River and killed a 16-year-old passenger. The teen was initially charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death and criminal negligence causing death, before pleading guilty to a lighter sentence, according to the Toronto Star.
It may seem shocking that these charges don’t always lead to jail time, but a Toronto Star article looking at why careless driving is not a crime says that not paying attention, even when it results in a fatal accident, doesn’t make you a criminal. The Highway Traffic Act aims to regulate behaviour and it doesn’t account for the victim’s harm, according to the Toronto Star. There’s also a higher burden of proof when it comes to criminal offences since police need to prove there was criminal intent in the situation.
“It’s always emotionally enticing to say, ‘Well, a death is involved, therefore your conduct must have been very reckless or very careless,’” Richard Litkowski, a criminal lawyer and adjunct professor at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, told the Toronto Star. “You just can’t jump to the conclusion that the driving must have been dangerous because somebody died.”
Stay safe and avoid dangerous situations for yourself and others, don’t drive while impaired, distracted, which includes texting while behind the wheel, or when you’re exhausted. Also, always make sure your seatbelt is buckled and drive at the proper speed limit.
Motor vehicle accidents happen and accident benefits are available to anyone involved in a motor vehicle accident regardless of who caused the accident. The personal injury and accident lawyers at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers have been dealing with all accident related issues throughout Ontario for over 45 years. We know how to get you the compensation that you deserve and get your life back in order after being in a car accident. Call us at 416-920-4242, set up a free consultation, and come speak with us.
Greg Neinstein
Latest posts by Greg Neinstein (see all)
- Do I have a personal injury case? - April 23, 2019
- Are your insurance premiums high? Check your postal code - April 17, 2019
- This was an unusually harsh winter for slip-and-falls - April 11, 2019