OHTA.ca

Hello-

I had a G license for about 2 years now and am a 20 year old driver with no previous tickets or accidnts other than being rear ended a few years back which was not my fault. Please help me, I really don't know anything about speeding tickets, and when my mom had gotten them doing a 90km on a 60km zone, the police officer let her go with a warning or maybe a 15km ticket which was only 50dollars and no points but I wasn't so lucky, and I have no idea what to do next.

I got pulled over today for going 130 on a 90 zone. Officer asked for registration/insurance/ID and after i had handed them over informed me I was doing a 129km and walked away, so i couldnt even say sorry and ask him to lower it a bit. I didn't even know I was speeding 40km over on a 90 zone until I had gotten the ticket and he had left. I thought it was a 100 zone.

Anyways, so when i looked at the ticket, i was quite shocked. In my defense, I did know there was a 90 zone, but I did slow down for a 90 zone and where I was pulled over was quite a bit past where I thought was the 90 zone and I thought it ended when the one lane turned into two. I know I am guilty of speeding, but I don't think i was going 130km, and to be very honest when I was pulled over I was blindly following the cars in front of me, not watching my speed. I am thinking perhaps he saw me speed in the 90 zone and followed me here which is why i got pulled over far enough away from the 90 zone?

SHOULD I FIGHT THIS AT COURT?

and if so, how do i go about it without spending alot of money?

My ticket is $295. and i couldn't find the demerit points on the ticket but im guessing 4. Police officer spelt my name wrong, and im not sure what it says above the CVOR no. section.

what is the best way for me to get this ticket fine and points reduced and what kind of arguments am I allowed to use? I know I am guilty of speeding, but feel that highest i've hit that I noticed was 125, consciously slowed down at the very obvious 90 zone, may have sped up afterwards mindlessly, and also thought I was out of the 90 zone.

I am a secondary driver, so i dont know how this will affect my parents insurance. I was pulled over by OPP and on the highway 17 west, going west from sudbury.

Also, I am a student and will be back in school in a far city in september, so will that effect court dates and whatnot? should I just pay the full amount? please help, any advice will be greately appreciated.

It is four demerit points. Basically, if you move out of your parents' home to go to university and they remove you as a "secondary" driver, there probably wouldn't be an effect on the insurance. However, any insurance you are "attached" to would most likely be affected by this ticket, if you are convicted.

If you pick option 3 and set a trial date, there is the real possibility of plea-bargaining to a lesser charge, like 15 km/h over the limit (if the Prosecutor agrees). They may not do that due to the fact that you were ticketed for 40 over, and instead go for 29-over or whatnot. But it's worthwhile, at least to get the speed and fine reduced. The insurance company only knows that the "conviction" was, not the circumstances surrounding it. No specific "arguments" for the reduction are required; once your trial date is set, some places have "walk-in First Attendance" meetings, or you can schedule a meeting with the Prosecutor to reach a resolution. At that point, you'd say that you want to save everyone's time, want to reach a resolution, etc., and see how it goes.

Any ticket that is handed out may be reduced at the roadside, but only at the officer's discretion. Some officers will reduce tickets depending on the circumstances, but this is solely a personal choice of the officer. There is no guidebook or guidelines about where, when, and how a ticket will be reduced by an officer. Some officers absolutely refuse to reduce tickets at the roadside. Your Mom was probably pulled over by an officer who has no problem reducing ticket, whereas it seems be a different story in your case.

How "wrong" was the spelling of your name?

Do you suppose it is worth fighting? In two years, the ticket would be wiped off and to be honest as a student I wont be doing much driving in the next two years, and as a secondary driver I wont effect the insurance too much. I am just worried that the insurance will go up and will effect me for a long time.

would plea-bargaining be kind of like me pleaing that I am guilty and asking for a lesser charge?

The spelling wasn't very off. My middle name is kind of ethnic because I am asian and he just spelt the last letter of my middle name wrong. It ends with a G but it is clearly not looking like a G... more like L? so its a minimal mistake

I'd say it's worth fighting. You can at least plea-bargain it down. At the end of the day, the worst-case scenario is you get convicted of the original charge (that is, if they don't accept a plea-bargain).

Plea-bargaining means you choose option 3, and before the trial begins, the Prosecutor will probably offer you a deal. You don't plead guilty to the original charge; you plead guilty to a LESSER charge that you and the Prosecutor have agreed to. The deal is made before you go in front of the Justice of the Peace.

As for the spelling error... in this case, it won't help get the ticket tossed.

Thank you for your reply-

I've decided to fight the ticket. However, I am not sure how to go about it. I went to some paralegal offices today and they are charging about $300 plus tax for their services. My ticket is $295, and they said getting the whole thing dismissed wouldn't be likely meaning my insurance would still go up.

(only by $112 per year though for 3 years, according to the insurance person that i talked to, because i am a secondary driver i guess?)

Should I hire someone for this? It would get me like a plea-bargain i guess. Or can i do it myself? Can I go to court with my ticket, and tell them I picked option 3 but would like to book a first attendance meeting to come to an agreement because I am returning to school in the fall and don't want showing up to court to interfere with school? I DO live like 10 hr bus ride away from my university...

please help!

If the only thing the paralegal can do is plea-bargain, I'd suggest plea-bargaining yourself. If you're concerned about it, and want to make sure the procedure is done correctly, then a paralegal isn't a bad idea.

Some places allow you to file the ticket by mail. Others require that you go into the courthouse and file it there. The instructions should be on the back. If you go to the courthouse, they could tell you if they offer walk-in First Attendance (show up at any time to plea-bargain), or if you have to schedule it with a Prosecutor. You'd probably need a court date before you could even talk about a First Attendance meeting, though. They need the paperwork on your ticket before they know what to do with it. Someone else can also meet with the Prosecutor on your behalf if you can't be there.

In places like the GTA/Niagara, Ottawa and London, it can take a while for a trial to be scheduled. I'd imagine near Sudbury it wouldn't take too long, so there's a reasonable possibility you may be able to speak with a Prosecutor before September rolls around.

Thank you for such a quick reply-

I think I will try plea-bargaining myself, and if it comes to worst I guess i'll pay the full amount of the ticket.

I think i will go to court to hand in the ticket instead of mailing it so that I can ask about the first attendance meeting.

When you say someone else can meet with the prosecutor on my behalf, does that mean i can ask my parents to go in and plea-bargain for me?

What constitutes as a good reason for asking for plea-bargain? can I say that "I plead not guilty but don't have time to fight about it in court therefore am wanting to settle if possible?"

Also, if they offer a rather bad bargain, can I bargain with them on the spot or is it more like accept or decline kind of a deal?

thanks so much

A "reason" for plea-bargaining is not required. If they don't give you what you want in First Attendance, you can see what they offer on the day of trial. Usually, it is on the trial date that you'll get their "best offer," though.

You could ask your parents to plea-bargain for you.