The defendant was charged with careless driving contrary to section 130 of the Highway Traffic Act following a motor vehicle collision that occurred on November 26, 2010, during a severe snowstorm.
The prosecution called three witnesses including the driver of the other vehicle, an independent witness, and the investigating officer.
The defence called the defendant and a passenger.
The court found that while the defendant's vehicle slid out of control on ice and collided with another vehicle, the prosecution failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was driving carelessly.
The defendant was driving 70-80 km/h in a 90 km/h zone, below the speed limit due to poor weather conditions.
The court found that the icy road conditions, rather than the defendant's driving, were the primary cause of the accident.
The defendant's inexperience in bad weather and panic-induced overcorrection did not constitute behaviour deserving of punishment.
The court also rejected the prosecution's argument that lesser included offences of "Change Lane Not in Safety" and "Fail to Drive in Marked Lane" could be applied, finding these were not necessarily included in the careless driving charge.
