“Fight The Ticket Or Pay It?”

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Hey everyone,

i need some advice with whether or not to fight this ticket i recieved. The situation started when me and friends were coming home from casino niagara, just getting into st. catherines (where the 80 speed zone is posted) and this truck flies up behind me and puts their highbeams on, and i was going about 105 km in the 80. I switch lanes to let them pass me and it was an OPP officer. They fly by me, and are going at least 130/140 in an 80. He was going about 130/140 for about a half hour down the qew, and i was going roughly 120 or 125.

Eventually we reached grimsby and guess what.. he slows right down and pulls me over. When he walked up to my window he said 'Do you have the right to drive as fast as me?' and I said no. and he says 'I am an officer. I am allowed to speed, I was doing 50 over in one area and you were keeping up with me.' and I countered that saying i was going around 120 the whole time. (i know,,,, stupid thing to say)..so he said '120 is still speeding so I am giving you a ticket.'

He had no proof of my speed, only my word. He claimed that he was dispatched, but no OPP officer is dispatched from Niagara to grimsby at 3 in the morning, no? And he didnt have his sirens on at all the whole time, even when he was exceeding speeds of 50km over the speed limit.

should i fight this ticket? Not sure of what evidence I can use, so I am going to take all the help i can get. Im only 19, have my g2, so Im still pretty new at this whole traffic ticket situation.

btw, I knoww it was stupid to keep up with him, but there were other vehicles on the road as well, going the same speed. they just exited off the highway before grimsby. I have 4 witnesses saying that he was doing speeds of 50km over the limit too..

You could request disclosure for the ticket and see if he made proper notes about pacing you. If not, then it might be difficult for him to prove your speed in court.

Niagara to Grimsby is about 50km, which is not that far for a cruiser to be dispatched. I have also been outside my zone assisting another detachment area, to be dispatched back to the farthest point in my own area.

Lights/sirens are not required to be activated on a cruiser when travelling above the speed limit.

hwybear wrote:Niagara to Grimsby is about 50km, which is not that far for a cruiser to be dispatched. I have also been outside my zone assisting another detachment area, to be dispatched back to the farthest point in my own area.

Lights/sirens are not required to be activated on a cruiser when travelling above the speed limit.

so basically i have no chance to win the case? Im not a punk kid looking to get out of paying it. I understand that exceeding the speed limit beside an opp was really stupid, I just cant afford to pay the insurance if found guilty. Im paying my own way into school and volunteering my extra time, because I too would love to someday work the non-monotinous job that a police officer has, and a speeding ticket I'm sure would be a strike against me, so I need someway of reducing the fine / demerits. I dont even know if trial is worth it, what do you recommend?

And to the post above, I dont believe he even wrote any notes because all he did was walk back to his car, wrote my ticket within a minute, and then drove away.

There's always a chance to win your case in court. The first step is to request disclosure. The second step is to speak with the prosecutor about a possible plea deal. The third step is, of course, a trial.

a lesson for you. you should fight the ticket hoping he will not show up in court. I doubt you have any chance of winning it . you even said you were going 120. so if you do not see the officer in court, plea not guilty. otherwise plea guilty with explanation

you are lucky he did not gave you 50 over limit. he can be going more than 50 over limit but you can't. he was probably busy and therefore easy on you