OHTA.ca

Received a speeding ticket today: 90 KpH in a 80 KpH zone (officer reduced it from radar clocked-speed of 104).

(On the Offence Notice, the "Code" box shows "R-104").

This is one of those Durhan County electronic form outputs and everything appears to be correct EXCEPT that the officer made a mistake in entering my vehicle plate number -- I have a seven-letter vanity plate and the initial letter of the plate "number" was entered incorrectly (I assume thereby making it an invalid vehicle plate in the province of Ontario).

Would this constitute a "fatal error" or not? I.e., is this worth fighting or should I just pay the $40.00 fine?

The above-mentioned item aside, the officer, as she handed me the ticket, mentioned that I would be "wise to just pay the fine and not try to fight it as any attempt to fight it would automatically prompt the JP to change the 90 KpH to 104 KpH." This was a new one on me -- I had never heard an officer say something like that before. Any comments?

It's not proper for an officer to offer an inducement to you to pay a ticket, nor is it proper for them to threaten you into paying a ticket. However, it is the case most of the time, in most jurisdictions, that if you take a reduced speeding charge to trial the crown will apply to have the amount reinstated to the full amount and the JP will usually agree. So as long as the officer is able to articulate that they were "just informing you of this fact" there's nothing wrong with them saying it. Only the officer knows what their real motivations were for telling you that but it really comes down to a question of articulation.

Incorrect plate number is not a fatal error. The plate could've actually been completely omitted, or been completely wrong, and that wouldn't affect the outcome.

As for the officer's comments, there is a fairly real possibility that, if you did go to court, the charge could be brought back up to 104 in an 80 as opposed to 90 in an 80. The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that this was lawful, and it is now standard practice in many parts of Ontario.

Thank you to both individuals, Simon Borys and Radar Identified, for your replies -- succinct, clear and non-ambiguous. Sigh... guess I have no choice but to pay the ticket and live with it on my driving abstract for the next few years. Cheers.