“Driving Under Suspension”

OPS Copper wrote:

Oh and for the record I charge everyone with driving under suspension if they are more than 30 days from suspension date...I let the prosecutor or JP make the decision. Under 30days i serve them a notice(no fine just formally notifying they are suspended so they cannot later say I did not know).....If on a call and someone who is not driving and i learn they are suspended still get a notice from me

OPS

I sure wish it was you who pulled me over today... I had a couple tickets for an expired sticker that I got in a 12 hour period back in September of 2015 (the sticker was september). I thought my wife had paid them, as did she. The officer today informed me the conviction date for the offenses was Nov. 2nd of 2015, I bought a new vehicle on November 23rd of 2015, nothing was said about the tickets at the time of registration. I never received any notification via mail about either conviction, nor did I receive notification of suspension. The wonderful officer who pulled me over today, charged me with driving while suspended, the notification to suspend date was Feb 27th 2016, he pulled me over today, March 7th 2016 and gave me the ticket. He said they give 7 days for the notice to arrive. I pointed out that would be 7 business days, he disagreed and gave me the ticket anyway. =/ I have a completely clean driving record, not a single infraction for 28 years up until those two sticker tickets back in September of 2015... now I face a minimum $1000 fine and insurance rates through the roof. I'm obviously going to fight it, what are my chances of getting it completely discharged?

if you drive while disqualified, surly you are also driving with no insurance too

The best thing you can do for now is get your stuff in order and get an early resolution meeting. Pay off the original fines from September so you can get your license reinstated and make sure everything is clear for you to legally drive. Do this ASAP. You can try to explain that you were unaware of the suspended license, your wife had sent payment through the mail, had no letters, and immediately paid off whatever fines to get your license reinstated. MAYBE they'll take into consideration your license had been suspended for a couple days and you were truly unaware.

bobajob wrote:if you drive while disqualified, surly you are also driving with no insurance too

Not necessarily, no.

While having a valid license would be a condition for insurance, your provider wouldn't necessarily be aware of a suspended license the moment it happens. Technically, you'd still be insured.

I recall reading about a case about an Ontario woman who was unaware her license hadn't been renewed or was suspended (I can't remember which) and unfortunately had an accident during that time frame. She had to take her insurance provider to court as they refused to cover the accident. Their position is that she was not a valid driver therefore her coverage was void. Her position was that her license was barely expired, was completely unaware there was an issue with her license, and that she had made no attempt to intentionally drive without a valid license. She ended up winning the case and the provider had to cover the costs of the accident.

interesting,

again insurance will try anything to get out of a claim,

and thats also what I would have thought,

how would you "not" know that your license was suspended or expired, onus is on the driver surly, except for suspension, again how would you not know?

bend wrote:

bobajob wrote:if you drive while disqualified, surly you are also driving with no insurance too

Not necessarily, no.

While having a valid license would be a condition for insurance, your provider wouldn't necessarily be aware of a suspended license the moment it happens. Technically, you'd still be insured.

I recall reading about a case about an Ontario woman who was unaware her license hadn't been renewed or was suspended (I can't remember which) and unfortunately had an accident during that time frame. She had to take her insurance provider to court as they refused to cover the accident. Their position is that she was not a valid driver therefore her coverage was void. Her position was that her license was barely expired, was completely unaware there was an issue with her license, and that she had made no attempt to intentionally drive without a valid license. She ended up winning the case and the provider had to cover the costs of the accident.

Driving suspensions need to always be confirmed with suspension control. Any that are 7 days after the notice is sent are "deemed served".

The prior use of registered mail didn't work as the signature was always illegible.

I went and paid my fines first thing yesterday morning, also went and paid for my license reinstatement yesterday as well. I truly was 100% unaware the fines hadn't been paid. When I picked up my mail yesterday afternoon, the notice of suspension was there. I picked up the mail friday afternoon prior, so it came on either Monday or yesterday.

bend wrote:The best thing you can do for now is get your stuff in order and get an early resolution meeting. Pay off the original fines from September so you can get your license reinstated and make sure everything is clear for you to legally drive. Do this ASAP. You can try to explain that you were unaware of the suspended license, your wife had sent payment through the mail, had no letters, and immediately paid off whatever fines to get your license reinstated. MAYBE they'll take into consideration your license had been suspended for a couple days and you were truly unaware.

How do I go about getting an early resolution meeting?

Oh, that's right. You would have received a summons. Just wait for you summons date and make sure you have everything. Explain how your wife paid for the tickets (by mail I assume), your license had unknowingly been suspended, you were pulled over, and you had received the suspension letter after the fact. Show them you've paid the fines immediately after being made aware and they may be able to work something out with you.