OHTA.ca

Here's what happened.

I was following my front car at the same speed, then a few minutes later, a police car suddenly appeared at my back and stopped me for speeding.

He seized my car (7 days) and my driver license (7 days), and gave me a ticket for speeding and I have to go to the court of Ontario Court of Justice in 2 months.

I was heading from Toronto to Montreal

Stopped at Highway 401

Stopped for speeding at 152km/hr

Violated Act 128 AND 172 (1)

I made some researches online and I am asking for some helps and details.

Some ppl said that the speed radar have a margin error of 1-3km/hr... If so, can I use it as defence and hope to drop off the charge of 172 (1) for speed racing? It says that I might be emprisoned for no more than 6 months and from 2000$ to 10,000$ of fine and also a suspension of my driver license...

I live in Quebec. Should I hire a paralegal to give more professional information? If yes, one from Quebec or Ontario?

I rarely drive and I got my permanent driver license for around a year. I really regretted for driving so fast and I hope I can drop off the Act 172 (1), as I am not able to pay the several thousands of dollars fine.

Please help and share your experience, thank you!

opt_kc wrote:Here's what happened.

I was following my front car at the same speed, then a few minutes later, a police car suddenly appeared at my back and stopped me for speeding.

He seized my car (7 days) and my driver license (7 days), and gave me a ticket for speeding and I have to go to the court of Ontario Court of Justice in 2 months.

I was heading from Toronto to Montreal

Stopped at Highway 401

Stopped for speeding at 152km/hr

Violated Act 128 AND 172 (1)

I made some researches online and I am asking for some helps and details.

Some ppl said that the speed radar have a margin error of 1-3km/hr... If so, can I use it as defence and hope to drop off the charge of 172 (1) for speed racing? It says that I might be emprisoned for no more than 6 months and from 2000$ to 10,000$ of fine and also a suspension of my driver license...

I live in Quebec. Should I hire a paralegal to give more professional information? If yes, one from Quebec or Ontario?

I rarely drive and I got my permanent driver license for around a year. I really regretted for driving so fast and I hope I can drop off the Act 172 (1), as I am not able to pay the several thousands of dollars fine.

Please help and share your experience, thank you!

Paralegal=Yes.

You should only be charged for either S.128 or S.172 but not both....A paralegal may get your ticket tossed based on that. And sorry but LIDAR and RADAR both have an accuracy of plus/minus 2 KMH not 3.....so the reading would still put you at 150.....And you'll still have to pay to get your vehicle out of impound.....

Thank you for the info!

Do you know how much it costs (approx) to hire a paralgal? IF I am charged for either S.128 or S.172, then why did I received TWO tickets?

Some friends recommended me to plead guilty, and hope the judge will minimize the fine. But I heard I will get a conviction and it will greatly influence my insurance fees.

Some friends said I should hire a paralegal to try and get off one of the 2 charges. Hopefully the S.172. I wasn't even racing... All my family were in the car and with my lack of driving exp, I tend to follow the others. I didn't even know I was driving so fast.

DO NOT plead guilty to both charges. The minimum fine for stunt driving is $2000, and on top of that, they will suspend your licence. The conviction is automatically reported to Quebec so they'll ensure that the suspension is enforced. Thanks to Quebec's new road safety law which was enacted last year, you would be looking at 10 demerit points slapped on your Quebec licence. (It's only 6 in Ontario, but Quebec will hit you with 10.) I can't say for sure what the going rate is for paralegals on these charges, but definitely find one, get a consultation and see what they're willing to do. Hire one from Ontario. Quebec traffic lawyers are pretty good... with the Quebec system. Likewise, paralegals from Ontario are good here, but not so good in Quebec. The provincial offences systems are different in Ontario and Quebec. Best to hire someone that's familiar with the system you're dealing with. X-Copper is the website sponsor so maybe try calling them. But definitely, if anything, get rid of the s. 172 charge!

My guess is that one of the tickets is s. 128, speeding, 152 in a 100; and the other is something like s. 172, stunt driving, drive a motor vehicle at a marked departure from the lawful rate of speed. They won't seize and impound the car if you're charged under s. 128, but they will if you're charged under s. 172. You got two tickets because, in the opinion of the officer, not only were you speeding, but the speed was too fast for the conditions. Whether you or I agree with it or not is a different matter. In the mean time, keep your receipts for the towing and impound fees. If you do get convicted, some JPs do lower the fines because the defendant has already paid a fair amount up-front.

opt_kc wrote:with my lack of driving exp, I tend to follow the others. I didn't even know I was driving so fast.

You don't use your speedometer??

With the new ruling from JP Griffin in R vs Raham, the prosecutor will drop the Stunting driving charge and make you pay the full penalty for speeding 50 over the limit. You don't need to hire an agent unless you can't attend the summons yourself. Just go in and talk to the prosecutor before you are called to see the judge to enter your plea. The prosecutors are more than willing to dismiss your Stunt driving charge, since it's been ruled unconstitutional. As for the charge of speeding 50 over the limit, which is $500 or more in fines, 6 demerit points in Ontario (more in Quebec?) and upto 30 day license suspension, however, you can ask them not to suspend your license which they will probably agree to unless you have a bad driving record. Paralegals will charge $800-1100 to fight a stunt driving charge and they will most likely 99% of the time get it reduce to a speeding charge unless you ask them to actually goto trial. So why pay someone when you can do it yourself, unless you want to goto trial and file a s.7 Charter defense to dismiss the stunt driving charge completely. As for fighting the speeding ticket, pay up, prosecutors are in no mood right now to make deals on 50 over the limit speeding tickets under HTA 128.

zoomsay wrote:As for fighting the speeding ticket, pay up, prosecutors are in no mood right now to make deals on 50 over the limit speeding tickets under HTA 128.

Doesn't hurt to try and see if you can get a paralegal to knock the speeding ticket down a bit too.