lubu11 wrote: i also want to know if i should bring up traffic school, to ensure my insurance doesnt go up.. again this is my first ever ticket my record has been cleaned before this. im also the secondary driver on my parents vehicle, any advice would be greatly appreciated
Traffic school? Ontario does not really have the option of going to "traffic school" to keep convictions off your record, if that's what you're asking. If you mean some sort of driving school that teaches people how to drive, if you learned to drive at one that really won't help your case. In this instance, the courts only really concern themselves with whether you were speeding or not, and by how much. They need the officer to identify the driver (you); state that he/she tested whatever speed measuring device before and after the stop; the officer visually observed your vehicle speeding and then activated the device; finally, the officer pulled you over without sight lost. That's it. Details about "it was a speed trap" or things like that are irrelevant. As Stanton said, speeding is an "absolute liability offence." That means that if they prove you did it, the only defence available to you is "defence of necessity," which means that you HAD to exceed the speed limit because of a serious emergency (read: life-threatening). Things like being late, trying to get home, etc., don't qualify as "defence of necessity."
The court won't be able to tell your insurance any details. The only info they get is what you were convicted of, and when. If you're convicted of 42 over, there's going to be problems (I'll explain in a second). However, given that your record is clean, try to plea-bargain to a lower speed. (Actually try to plead to 29 over because that's 3 demerit points instead of 4, and some insurance companies consider 30+ over to be a serious offence.) If you're really lucky, the Prosecutor might drop it to 15 over - which is 0 points AND some insurance companies won't give you an increase for that. You mention you have a G2. You definitely want 29 over (or less) because at 4 demerit points, your licence gets suspended for 30 days and your parents' insurance would get jacked - or they'd just drop you off their coverage.
To get the process started, go to the courthouse. You want to choose option 3 and fill out a Notice of Intent to Appear (they'll have it there). At that point, they'll schedule a trial and send you a Notice in the mail. When you get it, you can make a Disclosure Request to obtain the evidence the Prosecutor has. (See the "Courts and Procedures" section of this site.) You might have the offer of a First Attendance meeting, where you'll have a chance to meet with the Prosecutor and offer to plead guilty to a lesser offence. If not, you can check in with the Prosecutor on they day of trial, before the trial starts, and offer to resolve it there.
Some tips for bargaining with the Prosecutor:
- Dress and act like an upstanding member of society. Think dress pants, shirt and tie. Showing up wearing ripped jeans, a dirty t-shirt, or ungroomed and smelling like a yak (it happens) are going to make the Prosecutor refuse to bargain.
- Show up early.
- Be respectful. Prosecutors get punk arseholes with serious attitude problems and severe social skill deficiencies all day, so if you walk in there and act like a normal human being, you'll probably get a better deal.
- Tell the Prosecutor you made an error and are remorseful, however in recognition of owning up to your mistake, you'd like to discuss lowering the speed to a lesser amount.
- Do NOT say things like "it was a speed trap," or "the cop was unfair" or "I wasn't going that fast." You'd be no different than the 21 000 other people who the Prosecutor has dealt with who said exactly the same thing. They won't believe you anyway.
Good luck.