OHTA.ca

Hi, I am not a law breaker by any means. My license had expired and I didn't know. I got pulled over randomly and was given a ticket for no license. It turns out it had expired April 19th. I called my insurance to ask them how much this weighs on my record and was told this is a MAJOR conviction and they will refuse to insure me if I am convicted. I was told I could expect my rates to increase anywhere from 40-100% with another insurance company.

My question for you guys is: If I go to court and tell them this is going to destroy my life and I didn't know it was expired... is there any chance they would drop the fine or change it to another fine? Or should I pay Xcopper $500 to fight if for me? Would they even be able to get a ticket like this dropped for me? Its pretty clear cut I'm guilty. If I get this conviction I will not be able to afford my insurance or car payments. I will then loose my job as I won't be able to drive and my life will be destroyed. Please Help!!!

Was this a case of your license expiring after 5 years?

Did you receive a letter? Have you switched addresses?

bend wrote: ↑Sat May 12, 2018 2:23 pm

Was this a case of your license expiring after 5 years?

Did you receive a letter? Have you switched addresses?

I got my G2 awhile ago then went and took my G. I got my G on 2015/09/24 and it expired 2018/04/19

for some reason I thought licenses lasted longer than that. I never even had it in my head that my license was expired or to even check that it was expired. I didn't receive any sort of letter or anything telling me. Its obvious I'm just an idiot. I don't think my life should be ruined because I'm an idiot though.

You should have received a renewal notice in the mail. Sadly, not receiving it is not a valid defence, but receiving it serves as a helpful reminder. I think a lot of us would forget about renewing our licences otherwise.

If you can find a compassionate prosecutor, maybe he or she would consider reducing the charge to failing to show your licence to a police officer. That would be a minor offence and would have a much more "gentle" effect on your insurance.