OHTA.ca

I recently got a letter in the mail stating that my driver's licence was suspended for not paying a traffic fine. The fine was for speeding at just 5 km/hr over the limit. It was a very very small fine with no points but I didn't pay the fine by the due date. Shortly after I get a letter in the mail saying my licence has been suspended and I have to pay all outstanding fines plus a $150 reinstatement fee. I honestly feel that I should have gotten a warning before they suspended my licence. I feel that the suspension was too severe for such a small traffic ticket. I wanted to know if there's any way I can get the suspension off my record. Can anyone offer some advice ? I'd be grateful for any assistance. Thanks.

Whether you think the suspension is to severe or not does not matter. HTA tickets not paid result in suspended tickets do matter the cost.

You knew you got the ticket and Chose to not pay it or fight it. The predicament you are in is purely a result of your decisions.

You could try and get it re-opened and fight it but I have not that work when people have chosen to ignore the ticket but what the hell . I do think that you need to pay all outstanding fees first.

OPS Copper

The fine has been paid in full. I don't have an issue with paying a fine. If a person receives a ticket then obviously a fine is charged. My issue is suspending a person's licence over such a small fine and not even sending him a letter in the mail first warning him that his licence will be suspended if the fine isn't paid. To suspend one's licence shortly after a minor traffic fee was due without even a notice in the mail warning of an upcoming suspension I believe is unfair. Do you see where a person might be disappointed with the justice system when such a thing happens ?

Not really I have managed to drive for the last 25 years, and yes I have gotten tickets(lots of them) and i have always managed to pay them and not get m DL suspended...

The alternative is we could go like the USA and just issue warrants for unpaid tickets and haul people off to jail.

OPS

If someone's fine is going to be increased dramatically from what it originally was (as was done in my case) and on top of that to charge them a $150 fee to reinstate their licence after suspending them, that person at the very least deserves a letter in the mail beforehand warning them that a suspension is coming if the fine isn't paid soon. That's the respectable thing to do. To dramatically increase someone's fine from a very minor ticket without even a warning, to charge them a $150 reinstatement fee, and to suspend their licence on top of all of that is what makes people upset at the justice system, and only proves that the system is more interested in capitalism and their revenues than treating people fairly.

Why not just increase the fine to cover court costs and a late fee on top of that ? Why the need to suspend their licence for such a small offence ? It's entirely unjustified.

I disagree. It's not unreasonable to suspend your licence for failing to pay your fines. The onus is on you to make sure your licence is in good order. Driving is a privilege, not a right. I don't see why you feel that it's the governments responsibility to send you a warning letter. especially since they do automatically send a letter notifying you that your licence is suspended. You may not have got it but they did send it and they will be able to produce a certified copy of that record if it comes to a trail for Drive While Under Suspension. This letter is a favour from them to prevent you from driving with a suspended licence.

I also don't see the need to set a limit as to how much unpaid fines are worth of a licence suspension. If you have unpaid fines, you should have your licence suspended. I think that the majority of people who do pay their fines and keep their licences in good order would agree.

Epad wrote:

Why not just increase the fine to cover court costs and a late fee on top of that ? Why the need to suspend their licence for such a small offence ? It's entirely unjustified.

Well you never paid the small fine so why would you pay the increased fine? The suspension is an inducement that forced you to pay the fines so i would say it worked.

ops

In every other matter that I know of if a person is late on a payment they get a letter in the mail advising them to pay or their services will be cut. That's what's done if your cable bill is overdue, a utility bill, a credit card bill, etc. If I miss a payment on my electricity bill they're not going to cut off my electricity if the bill hasn't been paid. They'll send me a letter advising me to pay it and if I don't then they'll cut my electricity. And I believe they'll add a late fee on top of that. This is the reasonable thing to do. It's also the respectable thing to do which is why so many others do it. You would be hard pressed to find anyone else who would suspend you almost immediately from their services because of a very minor late payment. It's unjustified. A letter should have been sent out first advising of the pending suspension if payment isn't received shortly with a late fee on top of that.

It still feels like you're complaining because the MTO didn't cut you ENOUGH slack for your unpaid fines. A warning letter is a courtesy, yes, but I still don't see why you can't be responsible for paying your fines like everybody else and accepting the consequences (that apply to everybody else as well) if you don't.

If a person has multiple fines that are unpaid and they wish to suspend a person's licence that's one thing. But in my case it was only 1 fine which was literally under $20 and they decided to suspend my licence almost immediately after the due date past. Of course I'm complaining considering the circumstances. To suspend a licence because of that is unjustified considering a simple letter in the mail would have sufficed along with a late fee.

if the fine was so small, why didn't you just pay it?

No I think the system works pretty well as it is. Forces most people to pay their fines or no DL.

Don't want a license suspended. Pay fines owed. ( or at least make payments)

Pretty simple

Your DL suspension is your fault and no one elses. You got a ticket and did nothing about it.

Now that action has a consequence....

OPS

Every action has a reaction or a consequence. I understand that. My only point is that the consequence should fit the crime. There can be any number of reasons why the payment for the fine might be late. If you get a parking ticket and don't pay it on time then you get a letter in the mail reminding you and on top of that they increase the fine. They don't suspend your licence. Why does it not work the same way for a traffic ticket ?

Parking offences go onto a vehicle, not directly into the hand of the owner, a follow up letter is sent (for an excuse maybe the owner was not driving or the offence notice blew off the window), whereas a ticket is handed directly to the person charged.

You make it sound like you never got any advance warning that your licence would be suspended if you did not pay the (small) ticket. Well sorry to say, You Did! If you look at the back of your Offence Notice (see generic below)

The first line that starts with IMPORTANT. It goes on to say if not paid or otherwise in 15 days you will be convicted yadda yadda and your drivers licence may be suspended.

In summary you state it was small fine and should have been easily paid. If that was still too much of a burden at once Option 2 addresses more time to pay. And clearly you had advance notice that you may be suspended if no response in 15 days. Unfortunately you made your bed and now you must lie in it. No one to blame but yourself.