OHTA.ca

so i got pulled over last night at 1 am for no reason (literally)

and i received 4 tickets (was driving brothers car)

1) Fail to surrender permit for motor vehicles HTS 7(5)(a)

2) Fail to surrender insurance card C.A.I.A. 3(1)

this is when it gets rediculous...

3) Obstruct plate HTA 73(2)

i have these clear blue covers on my license plates... and he says they're illegal...

4) Improper Muffler HTA 75(1)

apparently my muffler is "too big and its illegal..." *edited*-officer name has been removed

I have a couple questions...

1) if there is a mistake on all 4 of the tickets (ie NAME) does it make all of the tickets invalid? i heard it does which im hoping cuz he spelled my last name wrong on all 4...

2) will i be getting demerit points for these?

There are no demerit points for any of the offences you listed, however you should note, that all 4 will form part of your permanent driving record.

If the office spelled your name wrong, you may be wise to speak to someone about representing you in court, as the prosecution must prove the identity of the accused. If you show up, all the prosecutor will do is ask the officer to point to the person he pulled over, and bingo, he points, and the crown has met the burden of proof required to establish identity.

Call my office any time if you have any questions, I can explain how the court process works or how to find a good agent.

You already told us the reason for the stop...the muffler!

- none of those infractions carry demerit points.

- your name could be amended in court, if the officer has the correct spelling in their notes, ask for disclosure

Every driver must surrender the permit and insurance upon demand, doesn't matter if it is your car, brother's car, rental car etc.

Plate covers, when buying them, also state on the package (at least the ones I have seen at C'dn Tire) "check with your local laws before use" and some have said "off road use only".

Muffler...sounds like a straight thru muffler...which is illegal when no baffle is in place. The muffler you are talking about has probably a "4-6" inch opening at the end....it also has a small little hole in the metal....this is where the "baffle" that comes with the muffler is to be bolted/inserted when on the highway. A lot of owners think it is "cool" and do not put in the baffle. At the same time waking up the whole neighbourhood. Without the baffle, you can actually look "straight thru" the muffler to the exhaust pipe, nothing to baffle the noise. A conventional muffler has offset pipes (one running in, the other running out)

The "muffler" ticket I would go to court with and propably win. Here is why. In the current OTA it states that all vehicles must have a muffler BUT if the government(and police) actually did some reading they would discover that not ALL vehicles come with a muffler from the factory. The NEON SRT4 does not have a muffler, it only has resonators which are straight thru. Just because you have a straight though muffler it does not make it loud. Lets read this example together(link). This muffler(in the link) is a straight thru design and you can not see thru the other side. The "see thru" mufflers do not have to be loud as long as they are designed correctly. Most of the time you get pulled over is because the tip is polished , usually 3-4 inches big. Also when is the last time a Harley owner got a improper muffler ticket. We also fail to see that when the muffler is free flow design the car consumes less fuel which is better for the environment.

Casper...what is OTA?

Sorry, I meant Ontario highway traffic act.

casper wrote: In the current OTA it states that all vehicles must have a muffler BUT if the government(and police) actually did some reading they would discover that not ALL vehicles come with a muffler from the factory.

I got thinking about this and sounds way off the rocker so to speak....why would gov't conform their laws to manufacturer's design. This has been around for years, where conformity has been put into place with laws/ best practices, so that all manufacturer's have to build their vehicle to meet certain standards prior to selling to the customer. What the customer does after the purchase is not a manufacturer problem. (IE all vehicles high beam indicators must be "blue", all turn signals shall be on the left of the steering column...etc..) The laws of equipment are there to protect the consumer and others on the road. such that if anyone gets in any car the components, function in the same way.