“Help! Ticket!”

Hey,

So I'm exhausted from studying for examinations, and I turned onto a street near where I live - but not familiar to me - and drove down a street. It was just after I passed the "do not enter sign" that I realized I was on a one-way street. A lady driving by yelled out her window "this is a one way street" and that's when I realized. There was a street just ahead, so I decided to turn onto that street to get off the one way road.

But not before the police pulled me over. It would've been one thing if I'd kept driving on the one way road, but I turned off the road to fix this problem. I at least tried to correct my mistake. The road was so narrow, I didn't want to chance trying to turn around on it.

The Ticket says Drives wrong way - one way traffic. It also says that this was contrary to the highway traffic act, section 153. It says the set fine is $85, and the Total payable is $110. The Total Payable includes "costs and applicable victim fine surcharge" it says (ludicrous).

On the back of the ticket, there are three options:

1) plead guilty and cough up $110 (within 15 days)

2)plead guilty with an explanation at the court office between 9am and 10 am Monday to Friday. (within 15 days)

3) Trial option - do not mail ticket.

So my question is this: what happens if I take option 3? Might they lower the price of the ticket and/or the points? And if I just paid the amount, what kinds of extra insurance charge might I get? The only other tickets I've ever gotten (3) were parking tickets. Do parking tickets have demerit points too? !?! I always just assumed parking tickets were minor infractions and wouldn't have points, but now I'm not so sure....

I just feel that under the circumstances I did the best I could to rectify my the effect of my sleepiness by turning off at the next road (this road was only about 2 meters away).

What are my chances? Can this charge get worse if I go to seek clemency?

Sorry! I meant to say "what happens if I take option 2 and plead guilty with an explanation"? Not option 3, as I put in my initial post

Can this charge get worse if I go to seek clemency?

This is a set fine offence. The judge cannot reduce it except in extreme hardship cases. $110 is not an extreme fine so you won't likely get a reduction. In other words, option 2 is the same as option 1. Pleading guilty is pleading guilty. Why take time off from study, go to court and end up paying the exact same amount that you can pay now?

The only really choice you have is if you decide to fight the ticket: (Option 3). Going to court will not cost you any more and you do not risk anything except your time.

This ticket will likely affect your insurance, it depends on the company: some count convictions, some look at demerit points.

Parking tickets don't affect your insurance or your driving record.