Turn and Passing Violations

The Dangers of Turning and Passing

A particularly dangerous part of driving happens whenever your car changes direction or lane. In those moments, you have a higher possibility of interfering with other cars. A great many accidents happen during turns and lane changes.

In an effort to keep the roads safe, there are a number of traffic violations that fall under the general umbrella of “turning violations”, including unsafe turns, prohibited turns, unsafe lane changes, failure to signal a lane change and improper passing.

On the surface, for many of them the penalty seems to be a simple fine.
At Juzkiw Law, our lawyers know that it’s rarely that simple.

Turn, Turn, Turn

Clients charged with turning and passing violations may be looking at:

• Two or three demerit points
• A fine
• A conviction on their driving record
• Raised insurance rates

Many turning charges are given out as part of an accident. One of the disputes in many accident-related lawsuits is a fault. A turning conviction usually means that a court has decided that you are the guilty party in the accident.

If you are being sued by the other driver and you are convicted of your turning violation, that will help his or her lawsuit against you.

Fighting a turning violation conviction means going into court and explaining why you are not at fault. This requires us to:

• Thoroughly understand the law in question and how it has been applied in your case
• Cross-examine the police officer who charged you and any witnesses to the turn
• Understand, and be able to explain, the physics involved in your turn, including speeds of all vehicles involved, distance between the vehicles and other objects, including street signs, road conditions, visibility

This is not something that most people are able to do to the satisfaction of the court.
Ontario’s traffic Courts consist of police, lawyers, and decision-makers who are all very familiar with the situations involved, and the language and rules used to explain what has happened. Unprepared defendants who want to just tell their side of the story are likely to get blindsided with questions they can’t understand and lose their case, even if they were not at fault, simply because they can’t answer properly.

Contact Juzkiw Law

If you have been charged with a turning violation in the Greater Toronto Area or surrounding regions, call us at 416-221-2221 or fill out our online form to get a free consultation.