“Speeding Over 42 Km First Ticket”

Okay so i live in canada ontario just got a speeding ticket going 92 in a 50.. but heres the thing, its kind of a speed trap, its easter i was trying to get home as i told the officer, and it goes from i think a 70, maybe an 80 to a 50, so i see the 50 sign before turning a corner, i brake a bit.. and then gradually slow down.. when he went to put his lights on or come up close to him as he was on the other side of the road driving towards me.. i was going around 80-84.. so ive never had a speeding ticket, i have my g2 license.. had it since 2008 of september. soo what should i do? i dont want to lose my license, and i dont want my insurance going up too much, whats my best options

Your description of what happened would not garner much sympathy in Court. Typically the best advice is to request disclosure and review the evidence against you. If there's a glaring error in the officer's notes, you may want to go to trial. If not, you can try and work out a plea deal with the Crown to a reduced speed.

well i dont really mind paying the fine.. the only thing im concerned about is demerit points.. and my insurance going way up, whats the best thing to do to plea a deal with the crown to make my speed reduced to 80?

i really want to fight this ticket, and also add im the secondary driver for the vehicle i was driving as it was my parents.. and my record was clean before this, and i just need to know a way to ensure my insurance wont go up and the steps to making a plea with the crown

as you can see im very new to this its my first ever conviction of anything, all i wanna know is the best way to defend myself, as i was out in the county and it was a speed trap in my opinion and have it reduced in any way

this is my old post that im re editing

Okay so i live in canada ontario just got a speeding ticket going 92 in a 50.. but heres the thing, its kind of a speed trap, its easter i was trying to get home as i told the officer, and it goes from i think a 70, maybe an 80 to a 50, so i see the 50 sign before turning a corner, i brake a bit.. and then gradually slow down.. when he went to put his lights on or come up close to him as he was on the other side of the road driving towards me.. i was going around 80-84.. so ive never had a speeding ticket, i have my g2 license.. had it since 2008 of september. soo what should i do? i dont want to lose my license, and i dont want my insurance going up too much, whats my best options

i also want to know if i should bring up traffic school, to ensure my insurance doesnt go up.. again this is my first ever ticket my record has been cleaned before this. im also the secondary driver on my parents vehicle, any advice would be greatly appreciated

Please keep your posts regarding the same ticket to one thread. You can always add to the older thread instead of starting a new one.

lubu11 wrote:

i also want to know if i should bring up traffic school, to ensure my insurance doesnt go up.. again this is my first ever ticket my record has been cleaned before this. im also the secondary driver on my parents vehicle, any advice would be greatly appreciated

Traffic school? Ontario does not really have the option of going to "traffic school" to keep convictions off your record, if that's what you're asking. If you mean some sort of driving school that teaches people how to drive, if you learned to drive at one that really won't help your case. In this instance, the courts only really concern themselves with whether you were speeding or not, and by how much. They need the officer to identify the driver (you); state that he/she tested whatever speed measuring device before and after the stop; the officer visually observed your vehicle speeding and then activated the device; finally, the officer pulled you over without sight lost. That's it. Details about "it was a speed trap" or things like that are irrelevant. As Stanton said, speeding is an "absolute liability offence." That means that if they prove you did it, the only defence available to you is "defence of necessity," which means that you HAD to exceed the speed limit because of a serious emergency (read: life-threatening). Things like being late, trying to get home, etc., don't qualify as "defence of necessity."

The court won't be able to tell your insurance any details. The only info they get is what you were convicted of, and when. If you're convicted of 42 over, there's going to be problems (I'll explain in a second). However, given that your record is clean, try to plea-bargain to a lower speed. (Actually try to plead to 29 over because that's 3 demerit points instead of 4, and some insurance companies consider 30+ over to be a serious offence.) If you're really lucky, the Prosecutor might drop it to 15 over - which is 0 points AND some insurance companies won't give you an increase for that. You mention you have a G2. You definitely want 29 over (or less) because at 4 demerit points, your licence gets suspended for 30 days and your parents' insurance would get jacked - or they'd just drop you off their coverage.

To get the process started, go to the courthouse. You want to choose option 3 and fill out a Notice of Intent to Appear (they'll have it there). At that point, they'll schedule a trial and send you a Notice in the mail. When you get it, you can make a Disclosure Request to obtain the evidence the Prosecutor has. (See the "Courts and Procedures" section of this site.) You might have the offer of a First Attendance meeting, where you'll have a chance to meet with the Prosecutor and offer to plead guilty to a lesser offence. If not, you can check in with the Prosecutor on they day of trial, before the trial starts, and offer to resolve it there.

Some tips for bargaining with the Prosecutor:

- Dress and act like an upstanding member of society. Think dress pants, shirt and tie. Showing up wearing ripped jeans, a dirty t-shirt, or ungroomed and smelling like a yak (it happens) are going to make the Prosecutor refuse to bargain.

- Show up early.

- Be respectful. Prosecutors get punk arseholes with serious attitude problems and severe social skill deficiencies all day, so if you walk in there and act like a normal human being, you'll probably get a better deal.

- Tell the Prosecutor you made an error and are remorseful, however in recognition of owning up to your mistake, you'd like to discuss lowering the speed to a lesser amount.

- Do NOT say things like "it was a speed trap," or "the cop was unfair" or "I wasn't going that fast." You'd be no different than the 21 000 other people who the Prosecutor has dealt with who said exactly the same thing. They won't believe you anyway.

Good luck.

okay thanks so much for the reply.. i guess my only chance is to ask for it to be 13 km reduced right? whats the possibility of that in my situation with a clean record before this? and i guess the other chance i got is the officer that pulled me over not show up right? but i'd have to get very lucky.. thanks so much appreciate it.

hey everyone just got back from court around 20 minutes okay, i got there at around 9 15 for an appointment with the prosecutor at 9 30 heres my topic i made with my story

i actually got called in at 9 20 and it took around honestly 30 seconds with him, he was very nice, i dressed nicely, was very polite, he gave me a deal, i couldnt say what i wanted, he just said this is the best i can give you, he asked if i ever had a ticket before in the last 3 years i said no never had one, he said okay good, he then gave me the deal which was disobey sign with 2 points and 200 dollars. i said is that the best deal? (just to be sure) and he said yes thats the absolute best for you, i then agreed. waited till 10 am, me and around 20+ people went into the little court room, waited around 10 more min for the jp (justice of peace) i was around the 6th person to be called up, a different prosecutor was there with all our information, called my name up jp asked me if thats who i was, (thankfully caise i got a speech impetement when i say my name :/ ) she then went on to say do you plead guilty to going 92 in a 50 of excessive speeds, she tried trickin me but now i realise she HAS to ask this, and i said no to the other deal i made which was disobey sign, the prosecutor then stood up and said the defendant agreed to disobey sign instead of guilty to excessive speeds of 92 in a 50, she then said do you plead guilty to this as there are demerit points and i have no control over this and it comes out to 200 dollars? i said yes, she said are u being forced or pressured into making this plea i said no she said do you understand you give up the right to a trial i said yes, she then asked if i was working i guess cause i look very young (im 22 and look 18) i said yup, which you shouldnt do always stick to yes or no, i was just nervous, extremely nervous. she then said how long would you like to pay? i said 90 days please, she said your free to go.

so my point is dont always listen to everyone here who tries to scare you its different in all cities, and countries, just try your best, and my opinion dont go to trial unless you KNOW you can win because i seen around 4-5 cops who showed up and another one on the way when i was driving home, they WILL show up as its extra money in there pockets. very good lesson learned here though ill be sure to drive safer, drive safe everyone and good luck!

Well, a Disobey Sign offence instead of 42 over is a good plea-bargain. I'd say you did well.

lubu11 wrote:they WILL show up as its extra money in there pockets

Not necessarily. Most traffic court is booked on the officers day shifts, which means they're already being paid to be there, it's not extra money.

Also, even if it is overtime, they don't show up because of the money, they show up because they are obligated to do so - it being part of their duties under the Police Service Act, as I wrote here: http://www.simonborys.ca/2010/08/does-a ... for-court/ (of course that is not an absolute obligation).