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Ontario|Highway Traffic ActDriving Offences: Highway Traffic Act 525 Following too closely The offence of driving too closely is committed when a driver follows another vehicle at a distance that is not reasonable and prudent. This is a difficult offence for a prosecutor to prove.
The exact definition of a reasonable and prudent distance will depend on the road conditions, and the street or highway you were on. The penalty for following too closely is a fine of between $90 and $500, and four demerit points.
As a defence to the charge of following too closely, you could argue that the distance you were following was reasonable. Some people try to argue that their brakes failed. The court is usually very skeptical about this excuse, so unless you have proof it is probably not worthwhile to use this defence.
If you want to fight a ticket of following too closely by arguing that you were following at a reasonable distance, you should prepare your argument. You should know the distance between you and the vehicle you were following, the action you took to avoid the accident, the action taken by the other vehicle that affected your vehicle, and the time span involved.
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