failing to drive in marked lane | GTAMotorcycle.com

failing to drive in marked lane

shahfaisal

shahfaisal

Well-known member
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guys i got ticketed on my brand new bike,

officer says i was intentionally swerving, i actually saw two birds come at me and saw only one get out was just trying to see if i still had something stuck on my fairing i crossed over the line twice. (this is true not making it up), my bike had only 250 kms on it so i was not speeding either, stops me and gives a ticket saying i was intentionally doing it. i asked her to go over their and she should see a dead bird, she still gave me a ticket. before i diverted my attention to the fairing i made sure their was no traffic what so ever for as far as the signal on lawson. she spotted me from about 300-350 meters away from a stop light.

please advise i dont take risk or drive rash clean record.
 
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I suppose the legalistic view would be you should have stopped and looked at your bike etc. What line did you cross? Into oncoming or shoulder or just another lane?
One would think that the officer had to collect/state all evidence exonerating and incriminating but I'm not sure how far you can push that.
If there was a safer way of checking your bike the dead bird would probably be irrelavent.
People have been injured or killed by people swerving into oncoming lanes to avoid dogs birds etc.
 
Why won't people just hit small animals/birds? At least you only got the ticket and are not dead. I have seen so many crashes where people try to save the chipmunk and end up with seriously injured people.

If you take it to court, the JP may have mercy on you, but it is unlikely. If the cop doesn't show up (or you get 11b), the ticket will disappear, other than that you are likely stuck with a minor ticket here.
 
The HTA Says:

Where highway divided into lanes
<!-- TRANSIT - HYPERLINK --><!-- .http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/french/elaws_statutes_90h08_f.htm#s154s1. -->154.<!-- TRANSIT - HYPERLINK --><!-- .http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/french/elaws_statutes_90h08_f.htm#s154s1. --> (1) Where a highway has been divided into clearly marked lanes for traffic,
(a) a vehicle shall be driven as nearly as may be practicable entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved from the lane until the driver has first ascertained that the movement can be made with safety;
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If your move was made with safety I think you would have an arguement against the ticket. This is providing:

Driving to left of centre prohibited under certain conditions
Click to expand...
<!-- TRANSIT - HYPERLINK --><!-- .http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/french/elaws_statutes_90h08_f.htm#s149s1. -->149.<!-- TRANSIT - HYPERLINK --><!-- .http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/french/elaws_statutes_90h08_f.htm#s149s1. --> (1) No vehicle shall be driven or operated to the left of the centre of a roadway designed for one or more lines of traffic in each direction,
(a) when approaching the crest of a grade or upon a curve in the roadway or within 30 metres of a bridge, viaduct or tunnel where the driver’s view is obstructed within that distance so as to create a potential hazard in the event another vehicle might approach from the opposite direction; or
(b) when approaching within 30 metres of a level railway crossing. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 149 (1).
Click to expand...

..Tom
 
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This is a tough one as your stated defence, to the charge of failing to drive in marked lane, is admitting to a more serious charge, operation without due care and attention. I'm not really sure how I would deal with this, apart from throwing myself on the mercy of The Crown at first attendance. If there was no other traffic on the road and you have an otherwise clean record, you might stand a chance with that. Otherwise, you're down to the usual 11b, hope the cop doesn't show, etc..
 
Rob MacLennan said:
This is a tough one as your stated defence, to the charge of failing to drive in marked lane, is admitting to a more serious charge, operation without due care and attention. I'm not really sure how I would deal with this, apart from throwing myself on the mercy of The Crown at first attendance. If there was no other traffic on the road and you have an otherwise clean record, you might stand a chance with that. Otherwise, you're down to the usual 11b, hope the cop doesn't show, etc..
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Rob, what is the part of the HTA that says "failing to drive in a marked lane"?

..Tom
 
V-Tom said:
Rob, what is the part of the HTA that says "failing to drive in a marked lane"?

..Tom
Click to expand...

154. (1) Where a highway has been divided into clearly marked lanes for traffic,

(a) a vehicle shall be driven as nearly as may be practicable entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved from the lane until the driver has first ascertained that the movement can be made with safety;

(b) in the case of a highway that is divided into three lanes, a vehicle shall not be driven in the centre lane except when overtaking and passing another vehicle where the roadway is clearly visible and the centre lane is clear of traffic within a reasonable safe distance, or in preparation for a left turn, or where the centre lane is at the time designated for the use of traffic moving in the direction in which the vehicle is proceeding and official signs are erected to indicate the designation;

(c) any lane may be designated for slowly moving traffic, traffic moving in a particular direction or classes or types of vehicles and, despite section 141, where a lane is so designated and official signs indicating the designation are erected, every driver shall obey the instructions on the official signs. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 154 (1).
​
 
Rob MacLennan said:
154. (1) Where a highway has been divided into clearly marked lanes for traffic,

(a) a vehicle shall be driven as nearly as may be practicable entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved from the lane until the driver has first ascertained that the movement can be made with safety;

(b) in the case of a highway that is divided into three lanes, a vehicle shall not be driven in the centre lane except when overtaking and passing another vehicle where the roadway is clearly visible and the centre lane is clear of traffic within a reasonable safe distance, or in preparation for a left turn, or where the centre lane is at the time designated for the use of traffic moving in the direction in which the vehicle is proceeding and official signs are erected to indicate the designation;

(c) any lane may be designated for slowly moving traffic, traffic moving in a particular direction or classes or types of vehicles and, despite section 141, where a lane is so designated and official signs indicating the designation are erected, every driver shall obey the instructions on the official signs. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 154 (1).
​
Click to expand...

So it was the part I quoted which is beign used. Note that it says "..until the driver has first ascertained that the movement can be made in safety." I'm not a lawyer or police, but to me that means it's okay to change around lanes as long as the driver has checked to make sure it's safe. It doesn't appear to outright ban the movement.

..Tom
 
V-Tom said:
So it was the part I quoted which is beign used. Note that it says "..until the driver has first ascertained that the movement can be made in safety." I'm not a lawyer or police, but to me that means it's okay to change around lanes as long as the driver has checked to make sure it's safe. It doesn't appear to outright ban the movement.

..Tom
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It doesn't, but I think that most people will have a hard time believing that a cross, into the oncoming traffic lane, was 'changing lanes.'
 
and i did make sure there was no traffic at all, before i diverted my attention. even the cop admited that there was no traffic
 
This is what you do:
1 - Write everything down including what the cop said... NOW while it is still fresh.
2 - Ask for a court date
3 - When you get a court date as for:
a - disclosure
b - first attendance (if you want to - optional, but do it after you get a court date)
4 - Figure out if you want to represent yourself in court or have a professional do it.

The law is murky on this one. If you did it in safety.... then it shouldn't count against you. You have to be VERY careful how you word things though.... maybe best to have a professional do the talking. If this happened in the GTA, I'd give RedLine a visit and I would probably go with them after hearing what they have to say.
 
Rob MacLennan said:
It doesn't, but I think that most people will have a hard time believing that a cross, into the oncoming traffic lane, was 'changing lanes.'
Click to expand...

What is movement? It does it mean changing lanes? Maybe he wanted to make sure his steering was OK and decided to do this near the centre of the roadway where it would be safer? Just saying.
 
Metastable said:
This is what you do:
1 - Write everything down including what the cop said... NOW while it is still fresh.
2 - Ask for a court date
3 - When you get a court date as for:
a - disclosure
b - first attendance (if you want to - optional, but do it after you get a court date)
4 - Figure out if you want to represent yourself in court or have a professional do it.

The law is murky on this one. If you did it in safety.... then it shouldn't count against you. You have to be VERY careful how you word things though.... maybe best to have a professional do the talking. If this happened in the
GTA, I'd give RedLine a visit and I would probably go with them after hearing what they have to say.
Click to expand...

1- i havent written down anything yet
2- i did go the the court and filed my intent to seek trial
3- i also checked the option of seeing a prosecutor to try and resolve this before court.
4- yet to ask for disclosure and first attendance
5- a friend of mine is a paralegal and has offered to represent me( will be calling redline first thing monday morning to get their opinion).
6- i did take an immediate video showing my odometer with only 200+ kms on it showing the bike is brand new and hasnt even broken in (after the ticket i had to get back to work). on my first break i took a video of the tires showing only the middle portion had been used and the tires on the other portions where still new, i made sure to document the date and time with in the video so as to avoid a possible issue with the time fo recording)
have i missed anything??

and i will be going back to the spot to get more pictures and more photos of the spot(should show visibility, road condition,s etc)
 
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LoL I don't get it? Are you saying the ticket is not warranted or are you just trying to get out of the ticket?
 
shahfaisal said:
m saying the ticket is not warranted, reasonable limits were ignored by the officer
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I'm not sure why your level of experience, or age of the bike would come into play in not warranting the ticket. 'Crossing that line' is usually the LAST thing you want to do, whether inadvertantly or by purpose, and whether the opposing lane is clear, or not. It's simply poor practice.

Unless it is done deliberately for purposes of passing, most 'wise', experienced riders consider the oncoming lane a 'death zone'.. ie not to be entered under any circumstance. Intentionally swerving, or not - it demonstrated a lack of due care and control to the observing officer in keeping to your own lane of travel. The appropriate action in your circumstance would be to get off the road, stop in a safe spot, get off the bike, and physically examine your bike from there - not trying to peer 180 degrees at the front of your own bike while in motion.

I'm not trying to pile on you here.. but i don't see where the charge ISN'T warranted.
 
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