Criminal Charges 

Yes, even without accident or causing bodily harm to others or property, your actions on the road may cause you to have a criminal record and become a convict, just like those who commit serious criminal offense. You are most likely to be charged with criminal offense if you drive impaired, fail or refuse breath sample to police, have a blood alcohol level of over the 80mg or involved in a dangerous driving. Others minor offenses that can also cause you a criminal charge and possibly send you to jail are: theft of money or a property under $5,000.00, assault and drug offenses (not involving importation, exportation and high amount in possession).

Section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms forbids unreasonable search and seizure by any law enforcement agent. This means a police officer cannot stop and start searching your car or a person without a warrant. But your enjoyment of this right is negatively affected once charged with a criminal offense. The Identification of the Criminals Act, 1985, allows the law enforcement agent to finger print and photograph you once you are in custody, even though you are not convicted of any crime. The serious part is that while you may request the records to be destroyed if not found guilty of the offense, once convicted, you are out of luck. The criminal record will be kept in the Royal Canadian Police Criminal Record System’s database indefinitely.

If convicted, criminal charges will have a devastating detrimental effect on you, your freedoms as well as your employment opportunities. Aside having a criminal record for the rest of your life, the real meaning is that, your chances of having an open door window where you can dream of meaningful and fulfilling dreams may be thwarted. The records means you cannot be employed to some positions that require a clean record. Your criminal history will show anytime a prospective employer makes the request to see your criminal record, again, limiting your chances of being employed.

While you may still have your right to travel anywhere within Canada still intact, even though you have the criminal records, your ability to travel outside the country may be curtailed or negatively affected. The first that comes to mind is the United States. Having a criminal record, the United States’ border agency may stop you from entering the country upon your arrival at the port of entry. You must consider calling or speaking to a competent legal professional, a paralegal or a lawyer as soon as any of these charges are laid against you.

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Impaired Driving

Impaired driving is a serious charge that requires requisite skill and expertise to fight. The Ontario Ministry of Transportation defines “impaired driving” as a condition where a person driving a vehicle such as a car, truck, boat, snowmobile and off-road vehicle, the person is under the influence of alcohol or drugs or has consumed an alcohol with blood alcohol level over 80mg. This is contrary to the common notion that alcohol is the only offensive tool at the wheels. Yes, a drug can make you impaired, which means impairment is something beyond the smell of alcohol and once charged with impairment, it is a serious offense that comes with serious consequences that increase astronomically when repeated.

Minimum penalties for first time offender if convicted:

• Mandatory education or treatment program
• 1 year minimum requirement to drive a car equipped with an ignition interlock device
• No minimum jail sentence
• $1,000 fine
• Licence suspended for minimum 1 year*

Minimum penalties for second time offender if convicted:

• Mandatory education or treatment program
• 3 year minimum requirement to drive a car equipped with an ignition interlock device
• 30-day minimum jail sentence
• Fine amount at the discretion of the judge
• Licence suspended for minimum 3 years

Minimum penalties for third and Subsequent times if convicted:

• Mandatory education or treatment program
• Variable interlock periods (depending on sequence of prior convictions)
• 120-day minimum jail sentence
• Fine amount at the discretion of the judge
• Lifetime licence suspension (can be reduced to 10 years if certain conditions are met)

Why choose Oppong Wiafe Legal Firm?

It is a legal firm that prides itself on the requisite skill, in-depth knowledge and the technical know-how to deal with cases that comes through our doors, leaving clients extremely satisfied with the results we achieve. We put ourselves in our clients’ shoes, even though in most cases, they are tighter than we envisioned, as sometimes clients themselves lack knowledge of the full consequences of the charges leveled against them when they walk through our doors. But that is a sacrifice we are willing to make to ensure our clients do not feel alone in the fight to protect the consequences associated with serious driving infractions.

Even though we have the experience and the requisite skill to execute our mission with high success rate, we do not rely on our experience when fighting in the courts for our clients. While experience has been the most sought-after commodity, to us, experience is doing something over and over again and learning from that same act, event or action. We hold each case as unique and deal with it holistically. This means every case is a new field that requires serious research, commitment and dedication to deal with it as if it is our first case in the court room that we want to make a mark and make impression on the judge to look nowhere else than the direction we have carved with skill, dedication, commitment and novelty that conjures nothing but excellence.

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Driving Under Suspension

If charged with driving under suspension, do not panic. We have the requisite expertise to assist you maneuver through the complexity of the legal system. Our goal is to ensure your rights and privileges under the law are protected.

But first, let’s give you a little trip through the dense forest of the legal system so you will appreciate the need to contact Oppong Wiafe Legal Firm for legal assistance under such serious charge. To begin with, there are two ways one could be charged with driving under suspension: under the Highway Traffic Act and the Criminal Code of Canada.

Provisions under the Highway Traffic Act 53.1

Driving under a suspended license carries with it a serious punishment that includes possible jail time. Once your license is suspended, you are required by law to desist from exercising any driving privileges, that is, you are not allowed to drive until the suspension has been lifted and all fines cleared.

There is no exemption to this law. You are not expected to drive under any circumstances. In view of this, once found to be driving with a suspended license, there is a heavy price to pay.

If convicted of driving while your license is suspended for an Highway Traffic Act offence, if its the first time offence, you will have to pay a staggering fine between $1,000.00 and $5,000.00. You will appreciate the message this high amount wants to send: if suspended, don’t drive. For a second offence of the same kind within 5 year period, the $1,000.00 minimum is replaced with a $2,000.00 minimum.

The range for second time conviction is from $2,000.00 to $5,000.00. The Court can then order the offender to spend up to six months in jail. The Court can also order that you pay the fine and also serve a jail time. Aside this heavy punishment, six months will be added to your current suspension under which you were charged.

The Criminal Code of Canada

If you are found guilty of driving while your licence is suspended for a Criminal Code offence such as careless or dangerous driving causing bodily harm, the first offence has a penalty between $5,000 and $25,000.

If found guilty of a second offence within five years, the fine jumps to a range of $10,000 and $50,000. Additional one year suspension is added to the current one under which you were charged if it is the first time; a second offence also attracts two-year suspension, same under the Highway Traffic Act.

The criminal code, under the federal government also reserves the right beyond the Highway Traffic Act to punish the offender again. The offender faces a jail term of up to two years, if the action is a type described in the criminal code, and a further three-year license suspension also ordered. Under the Criminal code, the first time offender who is fined between $5,000.00 and $5,000.00, also faces up to two year jail term.

Failure to Stop at Red Light Ticket

Failure to obey traffic signals is a serious infraction that can lead to fatal accident and/or property damage. For this reason, there are stringent laws that strictly ensures drivers obey traffic signals, most particularly the Red Light. The Highway Traffic Act, section 144.18 illuminates this fact and set out the laws that also prescribes penalties for the disobedience to the traffic lights. For instance, section 144.18 states that, “Every driver approaching a traffic control signal showing a circular red indication and facing the indication shall stop his or her vehicle and shall not proceed until a green indication is shown.” This clear message indicates the authorities repulsion to that infraction, aside the danger that it poses to the general public.

Prescribed Penalties for Red Light Infraction

Like all other road infractions, crossing the red light also has a sharp sword that gets into the skin of “red light” ticket recipients, causing them to shiver.

1. The first is the dollar. Red light ticket attracts a penalty of three hundred and twenty-five ($325.00) fine;
2. Three demerit points accumulation;

Hidden Side-effects

1. High chances of insurance premium increases
2. Adds to existing difficulty getting insurance coverage or cost that the insurer is asked to pay before coverage
3. Once you cross the red light, irrespective of the wrong of the other driver, the red light ticket assumes the one who crossed is at fault.

What we can do for you

When you have a red light ticket, look no further, we have the requisite skill and the technical know-how in the law to ensure we get your ticket thrown out, fines reduced and erase possible convictions that would spike your insurance premiums and threaten your driving privileges.

Seat-belt Ticket

Seat-belt is, indeed, a safety feature that saves lives. It is upon this that the government put much emphasis on their use as well as the heavy fines that upon conviction, one has to pay. Even though it does not carry a jail term like many of the traffic infractions, if you are suddenly asked to pay between $200.00 and $1,000.00, you will understand why you must also put emphasis on how to fight that ticket. The fact that the mistake has already been done does not mean that you should necessarily suffer and pay such huge penalty for that failure. Even if it happened, we do understand that people learn from mistakes, as such, leniency should be considered.

It is also upon this note that the Courts provide the avenue for you to make your case and to explain your circumstances upon which you believe your penalties must be reduced or the ticket thrown out. However, some of these arguments, which are purely based on your knowledge of the law, also requires some technical strategies to deny that police officer that sadistic appeal to hung you on the ticket. Lacking such requisite knowledge of the law and the courtroom processes, it is highly recommended that you speak to a lawyer or a license paralegal to assist you when you have a traffic ticket or have to appear before a judge.

It is not the case that all police officers are bad though; and that their main goal is to create victims in courtrooms while they sing with the chorus of the hymns from their victims fearful heartbeat. At Oppong Wiafe Legal Firm, we do believe there are some great Police officers doing their jobs honorably, but there are also few out there who will go extra mile to create stories that did not exist and smile out of the courtroom if they were not caught with their creative lies on their victims.

For this reason, we scrutinize every ticket that comes through our doors. If your case goes to trial, we make sure we get our best arsenal from our armory, that is, our technical skill and exceptional knowledge of the law to quiz the police officer of some of the claims made and to ensure he admits some wrong. By so doing, we crack holes in the argument to set you free, or reduce your fines so you can use your hard earned money on something precious to you, after learning from that mistake. Our only goal is to ensure your driving privileges and rights are secured under the telescope of the law.

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Stunt Driving

Stunt driving, it is one of the most serious traffic infraction charges on the road. If you are contacting us because you have been charged with stunt driving, it means you were taken out of the car you were driving and it was towed away, irrespective of whether the car belongs to you or not. It is also true that your license has been suspended for seven days and, if you were lucky, your only fine with the demerit points accumulation was $2,000.00. We say lucky, because there is an open discretion to fine you up to $10,000.00, which is the maximum amount on stunt driving.

Stunt driving charge does not necessarily mean that you were engaging in some acrobatic display on the road with onlookers cheering at your amazing skill. Some of the acts that can end you up with the ultimate charge of stunt driving are:

• Speeding more than 50km/h over the assigned speed limit;
• Engaging in a road rage or running after another;
• Driving with a person in the trunk;
• Repeatedly cutting in and out of lanes;
• Intentionally driving the vehicle in circles, known as doing donuts on the roadway;
• Engaging in street racing with another vehicle where a bet or wager is involved;
• Intentionally losing traction of the vehicle while on the road;
• Intentionally lifting some or all of the vehicles tires off while driving on the roadway.

In 2007, the Ontario government amended section 172 of the Highway Traffic by of the Safer Roads for a Safer Ontario Act, 2007, S.O. 2007, c. 13. This amendment specifically targeted Stunt driving, racing and the engagement of contest, bet or wager on Ontario’s roads. The amendment was necessitated by the then constant and repeated fatal road accidents that had been observed by law enforcement agencies and the public on numerous but a growing rate by such acts that needed to be curbed. The law also prohibited racing and any act of engaging in contest on the road.

The Law

Here, we provide you with some of the recipes that made stunt driving, racing and engaging in contest driving a hot iron to swallow:

Racing, stunts, etc., prohibited

172. (1) No person shall drive a motor vehicle on a highway in a race or contest, while performing a stunt or on a bet or wager.

Offence

(2) Every person who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not less than $2,000 and not more than $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both, and in addition his or her driver’s licence may be suspended,

(a) on a first conviction under this section, for not more than two years; or

(b) on a subsequent conviction under this section, for not more than 10 years.

Determining subsequent conviction

(3) In determining whether a conviction is a subsequent conviction for the purposes of subsection (2), the only question to be considered is the sequence of convictions and no consideration shall be given to the sequence of commission of offences or whether any offence occurred before or after any conviction.

10-year limitation

(4) A conviction that is more than 10 years after the previous conviction is deemed to be a first conviction for the purpose of subsection (2).

Police to require surrender of licence, detention of vehicle

(5) Where a police officer believes on reasonable and probable grounds that a person is driving, or has driven, a motor vehicle on a highway in contravention of subsection (1), the officer shall,

(a) request that the person surrender his or her driver’s licence; and

(b) detain the motor vehicle that was being driven by the person until it is impounded under clause (7) (b).

Administrative seven-day licence suspension

(6) Upon a request being made under clause (5) (a), the person to whom the request is made shall forthwith surrender his or her driver’s licence to the police officer and, whether or not the person is unable or fails to surrender the licence to the police officer, his or her driver’s licence is suspended for a period of seven days from the time the request is made.

Administrative seven-day vehicle impoundment

(7) Upon a motor vehicle being detained under clause (5) (b), the motor vehicle shall, at the cost of and risk to its owner,

(a) be removed to an impound facility as directed by a police officer; and

(b) be impounded for seven days from the time it was detained under clause (5) (b).

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No insurance

Charged driving without insurance? Well, then perhaps you are already scared and uncertain about the outcome, so we won’t say anything to get your heart pumping too much gallons of blood in its current comfort zone. We will just say, it is a serious offence to underestimate what you are facing right now. But indeed, we underestimate it because we know we can put on our gloves on to fight a good fight on your behalf.

But to be more realistic, we understand your frustration caused by that ticket. Even though the charge of driving without insurance does not have any demerit point, the fines can be such burdensome. Because even first time offence of driving without insurance comes with a staggering fine between $5,000.00 and $25,000.00. Any subsequent offence after that has a fine tag between $10,000.00 and $50,000.00. in addition to the fines, there is also the possibility of license suspension up to one year for driving without insurance.

While all other traffic infractions are found under the Highway Traffic Act, the charge of driving without insurance is found under the compulsory Insurance Act. But while the cost of this charge is such serious, we assure you that driving without insurance, even with all its seriousness, is something we can help you fight that ticket. We have the strategy, the knowledge and the requisite skill to fight for your ticket to be withdrawn. If such could not be achieved based on facts and evidence by the police officer and the discretion of the court, we will utilize all our legal resources to fight on your behalf to reduce the fine to the lowest charge possible.

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Impaired Driving

Charged with Impaired Driving, over 80mg of Alcohol Content?

If you woke up to the reality of having been charged with driving impaired, coming to terms with the repercussions of the act, the consequences that are often devastating, you will understandably blame yourself and regret the action. But the harm has already been done. What is necessary is not wallowing yourself at a corner in sadness. There is a solution. Because good people also make mistakes. Indeed, we won’t underestimate the charge, it is a very serious one, which is classified under the criminal code of Canada with huge ramifications.

For instance, for a first offence the minimum penalties are:

• Name entered into criminal record registry with serious ramification such as lowering employment opportunities and travelling abroad
• A fine of no less than $1,000
• Suspension of your driving privileges for 1 – 3 years;
• Participation in the “Back on Track” counseling program, at your own cost
• Installation of Ignition Interlock system in any vehicle you operate for 12 months  at a cost of $125.00 a month at your own cost.

The minimum penalties for a second offence within 10 years are:

• Three years Driving license suspension
• Mandatory jail term of at least 30 days
• Participation in the “Back on Track” counseling program (at a cost of roughly $578 from your own pocket)
• Required to install Ignition Interlock device in any vehicle you drive for three years, at your own cost

Undocumented Ramifications

1. High insurance premiums, up to 5 times of your current rate
2. Labeled a high risk by insurance companies, making it difficult to acquire insurance
3. Risk to loss of driving privileges

Knowing the serious ramifications that driving impaired charges has, it would be a disservice to yourself not to seek the best legal representation that you deserve to fight on your behalf. This charge has a serious potential to turn your life to a downward spiral with such serious effects. But you have the command at your side as to the direction you want your life to take with such charges.

In such instance, it is tempting to plead guilty, thinking that is the best option. In many cases, people erroneously think by pleading guilty, the judge will be lenient and give them the minimum sentence possible. But this is not the case. Pleading guilty rather puts you at a disadvantage. Therefore, your best option is to speak to a legal representative dedicated and committed to the course to fight for your freedom.

WE CAN HELP

Oppong Wiafe Legal Firm has the requisite knowledge and skill to fight to either withdraw the charges or where we find it impossible, fight to reduce the fines and the ramifications. Call or send us a message for a free consultation. We will also advice you on what step to take and ensure your best interest is our utmost priority.

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Failure to Remain at Scene of Accident

We are here to provide you an exceptional professional legal services to ensure your ticket is withdrawn. If this is not possible, we can fight to reduce the fines you have to pay. Failure to remain at the scene of accident is a serious traffic infraction in Ontario. When accidents happen, all parties are expected to remain at the scene of the accident. This is important since some of the injured may need assistance.

The seriousness is also from the fact that if no one is available to provide assistance to the one in need, an accident that did not have to be fatal could end up resulting in fatality. Besides, once police come to the accident scene, they need to get enough information to ascertain the causes of the accident. Having the two parties around provides crucial element in the quest to find what led to that accident. The Highway Traffic Act, section 200(1) provides that:

200 (1) Where an accident occurs on a highway, every person in charge of a vehicle or street car that is directly or indirectly involved in the accident shall,

(a) remain at or immediately return to the scene of the accident;

(b) render all possible assistance; and

(c) upon request, give in writing to anyone sustaining loss or injury or to any police officer or to any witness his or her name, address, driver’s licence number and jurisdiction of issuance, motor vehicle liability insurance policy insurer and policy number, name and address of the registered owner of the vehicle and the vehicle permit number.  R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 200 (1); 1997, c. 12, s. 16.

For these reasons, failure to remain at the scene of an accident which you are involved is a serious offence punishable by law. The penalty for failure to remain at the scene of an accident is found in Subsection 2 of section 200 of the Highway Traffic Act.

Penalties upon conviction

1. A fine between $400.00 and $2,000.00
2. Imprisonment of up to six months in jail or in addition to fine
3. Possible suspension of license for up to 2 years
4. 7 demerit points

Additionally, the failing to remain at the scene of accident convictions will remain on your records for three years with ramification of increasing your insurance premiums and threatening your chances to get insurance coverage.

What we do

We have the requisite skill, knowledge and the expertise to get your ticket withdrawn. If this is not achievable due to the nature of your case after our evaluation and assessment, we will fight to get the fines and other penalties reduced

Failure to Report Accident

Failure to report an accident has serious consequences. As such, we advice that you seek legal advice as soon as possible to discuss the best approach to either get the ticket withdrawn or drastically reduce the fines.

At Oppong Wiafe Legal Firm, we have the requisite skill, knowledge and the expertise to get your ticket withdrawn. If this is not achievable due to the nature of your case after our evaluation and assessment, we will fight to get the fines and other penalties reduced.

Section 199(1) of the Highway Traffic Act requires all drivers and occupants alike to report any accident that has a property damage of $2,000.00. However, whether there was a property damage caused by the accident or not, once someone was injured in the accident, the driver of the vehicle has the responsibility to report the accident. Another factor that requires a driver to report an accident is whether there was a damage to Highway property.

It must be emphasized that, if the driver of the vehicle is not capable of reporting the accident for some reason, the responsibility comes down to the occupants of the vehicle to report the accident to the police at the nearest police station or by contacting the nearest police officer to report the accident.

The $2,000.00 limit replaced the $1,000.00 minimum accident reporting requirement that had been in effect since 1998 when the accident reporting requirement was raised from $700.00. The new regulation came into effect on September 1, 2015.

Therefore, according to the new regulation, there is no requirement to report an accident that has a property damage of less than $2000.00 if there was no injury involved or any damage to Highway property.

What we do

We have the requisite skill, knowledge and the expertise to get your ticket withdrawn. If this is not achievable due to the nature of your case after our evaluation and assessment, we will fight to get the fines and other penalties reduced