“Use Of Plate Not Authorized For The Car Help!”

I just bought a car on February 3rd, and was pulled over yesterday the 4th.

The reason I was pulled over was that the license plate light was out, however I stupidly put my old plates which I registered to my old car on this one. I know it was a BAD Idea.

Anyway, the car isn't registered into my name yet, but I have the Bill of sale for it the Officer accepted that, and didn't charge me for it.

He did however charge me with "use of plates not authorized for vehical" HTA section 12 (1) (d) and gave me a court date for the 27th of march.

What are my options here? I'm fully willing to plead guilty if I have too but I have no idea what the min/max fine are?

also how will this effect my insurance?? the car IS insured, but the slip has yet to arrive in the mail as it takes up to 2 weeks.

any help would be great, Im only 18 so i have no idea what this can do to my driving record.....

I don't know what to tell you from a legal standpoint... But I do know that driving with NO plates is better than driving with the wrong plates in this case.

When I bought my first car, the deal was done after business hours, and it was a private sale. I couldn't get the car registered that day, and I still had to do a safety on it. I got my insurance to fax me a temporary card while they mailed my real ones, and obviously had the bill of sale and signed title.

While I was on my way to get a 10-day temp permit from the MTO, I got pulled over. I explained this to the cop, and obviously didn't get a ticket (he would have had to be a huge douche to give a ticket for this). Got my temp tags, then safety and plates, and have had those plates ever since (I was 17 when this happened).

The penalty is in the HTA as follows: [...]on conviction is liable to a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000 or to imprisonment for not more than thirty days, or to both, and in addition the persons licence or permit may be suspended for not more than six months. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 12 (1).

Seems like a major ticket, so i'm sure this would have a pretty crappy effect on your insurance rates if convicted.

This is a pretty serious charge from the looks of it.... Your court date on the ticket is usually just a set date. So you have to show up, talk to the crown, etc. Decide whether you're going to be pleading guilty or not guilty, and if you're pleading not guilty they'll set a trial date from that point.

I am pretty sure that since it's probably pretty easy to prove this charge in a courtroom, your best bet is to try to bargain with the crown. If you're young, probably a student, no record, etc. Tell them all this and that something like this can be huge. Tell them that you didn't intend it in a malicious way and that you just weren't thinking, it was stupid, etc.

Depending on your crown and the jurisdiction, they might give you a break. I know in some places they drop 45-over tickets (which is 3 or 4 points and a few hundred bucks) to a "disobey sign" (2 points and 80 bucks), so you might get away with something very minor.

Even a minor ticket will negatively affect your insurance because you're a young male, but often times the insurance company won't check, so they'll never find out. Only major tickets are automatically reported to the insurance. They sometimes check your record on renewal, but it costs them money so they might not.

Slyk wrote:

Depending on your crown and the jurisdiction, they might give you a break. I know in some places they drop 45-over tickets (which is 3 or 4 points and a few hundred bucks) to a "disobey sign" (2 points and 80 bucks), so you might get away with something very minor.

So pretty much I should Try and bargain however I can, or seek legal advice? I can understand what I did wrong, but they make it seem like I intended to do something horrible. Incorrect plates is by all means not on the scale of using the car as a weapon, or intentionally using it to aid in a crime.

tiexgrr wrote:

Slyk wrote:

Depending on your crown and the jurisdiction, they might give you a break. I know in some places they drop 45-over tickets (which is 3 or 4 points and a few hundred bucks) to a "disobey sign" (2 points and 80 bucks), so you might get away with something very minor.

So pretty much I should Try and bargain however I can, or seek legal advice? I can understand what I did wrong, but they make it seem like I intended to do something horrible. Incorrect plates is by all means not on the scale of using the car as a weapon, or intentionally using it to aid in a crime.

Well it wouldn't hurt to get a consultation from a reputable traffic law firm or paralegal, but chances are they might just get you a plea bargain.

I really can't advise you what you should do (nor am I remotely qualified to offer such advice), but if I were in your position, I would bargain, and if you're not satisfied with what they offer you, or if they don't offer you anything, set a trial date, and seek legal counsel. I suppose.... Anyone else in here got any ideas?

If I recall correctly you have 6 days to transfer the plates to the new car so the charge shouldn't have been laid. You'll need to bring proof of sale and make sure the dates are indicated.

Even if guilty, its only $300 and no points.

cruzmisl wrote:If I recall correctly you have 6 days to transfer the plates to the new car so the charge shouldn't have been laid. You'll need to bring proof of sale and make sure the dates are indicated.

Even if guilty, its only $300 and no points.

A transfer of plates is 6 days, but has several conditions:

- must own the number plates

- must NO longer own/lease the vehicle the plates were on

- vehicle portion of permit must be signed by previous owner and carried

- vehicle portion of permit must be signed by new owner and carried

- corresponding plate portion of permit must be carried

- must have a valid safety standards certificate (within previous 36 days)