OHTA.ca

Hello everyone,

I recently got caught speeding 68 in a 40. I was looking for some advice on what to do with this ticket. The officer was standing outside in an empty lot that is for sale and was using hand held radar gun to catch me. Those things have some distance because he caught my speed about 50 meters out, maybe even more. When he pulled me over he showed me I was going 68 and when I made the right turn on to the road where he was there was 2 other cars a head of me, now he said the other cars were going 58 but I was never able to catch up to these cars before I got pulled over. The Ontario Highway Law also says the speeding ticket range is 16km to 29km, since the officer told me that the 2 cars a head of me were going 58 that's 2 kms over what the legal amount to get a ticket, is this information good enough to possibly have a good case? I realize 2 kms is petty, but i was going an extra 8 kms. I was looking into a traffic ticket fighting company to help me with this, 3 demerits is the problem as I got a no seat belt ticket earlier this year and didn't fight it (regretful decision), so that's 2 previous demerits. There are no misspellings on the ticket.

Thank you for any help and advice

DDD619 wrote:The Ontario Highway Law also says the speeding ticket range is 16km to 29km, since the officer told me that the 2 cars a head of me were going 58 that's 2 kms over what the legal amount to get a ticket, is this information good enough to possibly have a good case?

I'm not sure I follow what you're saying. You can get a speeding ticket for simply going 1 km over the limit, there is no minimum/maximum speed to be charged. The only difference speed makes is the fine amount and possible demerit points.

Are you trying to argue that the first two cars were speeding as well and should have been stopped first, therefore you would have slipped through the net? That won't fly at all.

Squishy wrote:Are you trying to argue that the first two cars were speeding as well and should have been stopped first, therefore you would have slipped through the net? That won't fly at all.

Essentially yes, I figure if the 2 cars a head of me were speeding as well I thought they should have been pulled over as well. I was gonna ask for a first attendance and that was hopefully gonna be my bread and butter argument, but if you say that won't fly I may have to look into a traffic ticket specialist.

Thanks for the replies.

There is no obligation for the police to stop anyone and you can't use the fact that other people were speeding as a defence. The fact that you were going significantly faster than the other vehicles probably explains why they chose to stop you.

Ok, fair enough, what should be my actions then? Ask for a first attendance and see if they drop a demerit or 2 and a decrease in the fine? Is it worth $400 to hire a traffic ticket specialist for this? Thanks

DDD619 wrote:Ok, fair enough, what should be my actions then? Ask for a first attendance and see if they drop a demerit or 2 and a decrease in the fine? Is it worth $400 to hire a traffic ticket specialist for this? Thanks

That's really hard to say. It depends how much of an impact the conviction would actually have on you. Certain serious charges like careless, no insurance, have such severe complications that legal representation is always a good idea. Your charge is relatively minor, depending on your actual insurance policy you might not face any increase on a first conviction.

There is a very good chance the Crown will offer you a plea deal to 15 over, which would mean no demerit points and a reduced fine. If you're happy with that, deal is probably best bang for your buck.

Stanton wrote:

DDD619 wrote:Ok, fair enough, what should be my actions then? Ask for a first attendance and see if they drop a demerit or 2 and a decrease in the fine? Is it worth $400 to hire a traffic ticket specialist for this? Thanks

That's really hard to say. It depends how much of an impact the conviction would actually have on you. Certain serious charges like careless, no insurance, have such severe complications that legal representation is always a good idea. Your charge is relatively minor, depending on your actual insurance policy you might not face any increase on a first conviction.

There is a very good chance the Crown will offer you a plea deal to 15 over, which would mean no demerit points and a reduced fine. If you're happy with that, deal is probably best bang for your buck.

That is basically what I wanted to hear. Thanks Stanton.