Understanding the Legislation

Stan was on his way to work early on a Monday morning. As he approached an intersection, the vehicle in front of him came to a sudden stop. Stan quickly glanced into his rear-view mirror and noticed that he had enough space to swerve into the next lane in order to avoid a collision. In doing so, he did cut off another vehicle, but at least he didn't cause an accident. Unfortunately, the other vehicle contained a police officer who had spilled his coffee all over himself when he was forced to brake so quickly in response to Stan's lane change. The officer was quite angry when he questioned Stan about his actions. He took down all of Stan's information and left the scene. Two months later, when Stan got home from work, his 15-year-old son told him that a police officer had come to the door and left a Form 106 Summons for Stan to appear in court. The officer had laid a charge of careless driving contrary to section 130 of the Highway Traffic Act.

Answer the following questions and provide any regulations to support your answer:

1. Stan doesn't think that it was fair for the officer to wait so long to inform him of the charges. How long did the officer have to commence proceedings in this situation?

2. Which procedural stream does this offence fall under? List three reasons how you know that it falls under that stream.

3. Can Stan pay the set fine in order to resolve this matter outside of the courtroom? Explain.