OHTA.ca

I was wondering if any advise can be provided on this ticket; should I take ...

Option 1: Plea of Guilty - Voluntary Payment of Total Payable

Option 2: Plea of Guilty - Submissions as to penalty

Option 3: Trial option

I'd prefer avoiding to pay this ticket but really don't mind paying the ticket's fine, but what I'm more concerned about is my auto insurance payments will rise as well because of this ticket.

About Me: Driving for 25+ years, currently paying about $25 monthly for auto insurance, Clean Driving Record (or 'had' until today).

About the ticket.

Driving Weather: Snowing, slushy road conditions.

Time of Ticket/Offence: 3:10 PM

Offence: Make Prohibited Right Turn ~ London City By-law PS-111

Quick story:

The police officer that pulled me over said he's letting me go easy this time with this ticket with no demerit points, as he commented that I broke several violations:

* Not stopping for a pedestrian at a Cross Walk

* Not making a full stop on a red light before making a right turn.

The officer never verbally said he caught me for turning right on a lane where it has signs posted reading; No Right Turns During the Hours of 3:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M., except buses. I actually forgot what time it was and as a reflex I followed a right turning bus without realizing what time it was (as indicated on the ticket, I got ticketed at 3:10 P.M, ten minutes past the stipulated hours).

What is London By-law PS-111:

As per the City of London website: http://www.london.ca/city-hall/by-laws/ ... raffic.pdf

Prohibited Turns Schedule 8 > 20. > (2) > Where an official sign forbidding a left or right turn or both has been posted in accordance with Schedule 8 of this by-law, every driver or operator of a vehicle shall obey such sign.

In general I'd like to know is:

* Will there be Demerit points added onto my record? The ticketing officer said there won't be demerit points, but I'd like a confirmation.

* Will my driving record/file be smeared because of this ticket and my auto insurance premiums/payments go up?

* What option should I take, 1, 2 or 3? And why?

NOTE about the Ticket's Image I'm attaching: The texts in RED are my edits to keep confidentiality of myself and the ticketing officer.

Thank you.

Typically anytime youre charged under a municipal bylaw, you dont have to worry about demerit points since theyre mainly just applied to Highway Traffic Act offences. Unfortunately theres always an exception and your charge is one of them.

The regulation dealing with demerit points can be found here: https://www.canlii.org/en/on/laws/regu/ ... 39-94.html. It states that making a prohibited turn shall result in 2 demerit points, even if charged under a bylaw.

For this to happen though, the municipality needs to notify the MTO once you've been convicted. Many other posters report this rarely happens and the demerit points are never applied. So unfortunately I cant give you a definitive answer.

If the municipality notifies the MTO of the conviction, it will appear on your abstract. Id hazard a guess that insurance providers would treat it the same as a regular HTA conviction. Depending on your policy you may face a rate increase or they may overlook your first offence.

If your only concern is the conviction, pick option 3 and request disclosure. You can review the evidence against you and decide what to do next. Option 2 would let you ask for a reduced fine, but that would do nothing about the actual conviction and demerit points, which are non negotiable.

+1 Stanton

$300 insurance, and if an officer sees you commit 3 HTA infractions he cuts you a break on the spot to a bylaw infraction? Okay everyone, time to move to London!

I don't think I would not aggressively fight this ticket and I strongly believe you should aggressively fight every ticket. Weigh how little you pay for insurance and the likelihood this will not be on your abstract against the time/expense it will take you to fight it in court.