OHTA.ca

- received a speeding ticket 124/100 near Brantford.

- an american driver with no record other than a few parking tickets.

- when i spoke to the court about requesting trial, they told me there would be a "one letter code" on the ticket that would indicate if the officer had reduced the actual speed from the one initially clocked on radar. this code is nowhere present.

- speeding is speeding. however, i can take a financial hit and pay the $115, BUT ..........

- is there any way i can plea down this offense to prevent it being reported to my insurance in the states ?

ALSO,

I didn't read the fine print, but my date to appear in court is actually an early resolution meeting with the prosecutor. not a trial. after speaking with an administrator, I was told I didn't have to attend this meeting and instead would be given a new trial date and a brief chance to meet with said prosecutor before trial. It's a 3 hour drive from my home, but would it be better for me to handle this now and get it over with, or does it not matter if I wait it out?

The code showing a ticket has been reduced is not always present, its optional on the officers part and sometimes forgotten. You wont really know for certain until you review the officers notes.

Im not aware of any option that would prevent the ticket from showing on your Michigan record short of being found not guilty. The Crown will probably offer you a reduced speed/fine, but not withdraw the charge outright. If youre a long ways from Court probably not much point attending a first attendance meeting unless you would be content with a reduction. May as well attend on the day of trial and see if the officer shows.

MichiganDriver wrote:- when i spoke to the court about requesting trial, they told me there would be a "one letter code" on the ticket that would indicate if the officer had reduced the actual speed from the one initially clocked on radar. this code is nowhere present.

Agree with Stanton. I'd probably wait until the day of trial and see if the officer shows up. (He probably will.) If you want to resolve it early, that's fine, but if you wait until a trial date, then you'll still be offered the same deal as if you resolved it early. If you wanted tips on how to fight the ticket, we could help you with that, but it's not really a cakewalk and it probably wouldn't be worth it for the amount of effort you'd put in. In all likelihood, you'd still end up plea-bargaining to a lesser speed anyway.

As for the "letter code," in Ontario if the officer reduces the speed on the ticket, they can put "R" in the code box. As Stanton points out, they don't have to, but they can. Either way, when you choose to fight the ticket, the Prosecutor's office gets a briefing from the officer, who will tell them if you were caught doing a higher speed. If not, the Prosecutor will often consider offering you a deal to a lesser speed. If you were going 124, they'll likely offer you 115, which would be about $60 all-in. If you were going faster than 124, the Prosecutor may still offer a lower speed, but more than likely they either won't budge, or they do have the option of amending the speed at trial to the original speed you were caught at.

Ontario only has reciprocity with two states where any traffic conviction you get in Ontario will show up on their driver's licences, and Michigan is one of them. In most other cases, the agreements are only for unpaid traffic tickets... Doesn't help you much, but still... The one faint hope is that from time to time they drop the ball in exchanging the information if the ticket does get paid, both Ontario MTO and the Michigan DMV in not swapping information properly.

Thank you Mod & Stanton,

My trial date as finally arrived, roughly 9 months after the offense. I'm going to make the 3 hour drive (with no lawyer) and try my luck for the officer to no-show. Obviously I'll have to meet with the prosecutor beforehand, but does whatever we agree upon still hold if the officer doesn't show up or does it get tossed regardless of the agreement?

And since the prosecutor has probably heard every story in the book, how can i ask for the possibility of changing my ticket to a traffic violation of comparable fine value, to avoid insurance penalty, without looking like an ass?

once again, thank you guys so much.