...what can I expect? I had the $ together and was about to pay the fine when I got very quickly scheduled for surgery, surgery which was supposed to come with a short recovery period; I was completely out of it for two months, and missed the deadline, which was somewhere around November. (I had the license suspended because I had a fender bender with a g1 license. This resulted in: a one-month license suspension, and fines. Apparently the rural court for my jurisdiction attached MORE fines, and then completely neglected to mail me anything about this. A common story in my backwater town, but I had no way of proving that I didn't get any notification... This happened several years ago, and while driving quite normally an OPP officer ran my plates, pulled me over, and, much to my surprise, informed me of all this. I paid to re-instate my license while waiting for the provincial offences court date.) Do these things ever come with a warrant for one's arrest or anything along those lines? I have had some panic/anxiety issues since the surgery that have yet to go away and am in too much of worry to make phone calls or anything helpful like that; any insight here would be most appreciative. My plan is to go in and pay ASAP, but I'm wondering how many unpleasant surprises will be waiting for me. (I do know that my license is, again, suspended.)
...what can I expect?
I had the $ together and was about to pay the fine when I got very quickly scheduled for surgery, surgery which was supposed to come with a short recovery period; I was completely out of it for two months, and missed the deadline, which was somewhere around November.
(I had the license suspended because I had a fender bender with a g1 license. This resulted in: a one-month license suspension, and fines. Apparently the rural court for my jurisdiction attached MORE fines, and then completely neglected to mail me anything about this. A common story in my backwater town, but I had no way of proving that I didn't get any notification... This happened several years ago, and while driving quite normally an OPP officer ran my plates, pulled me over, and, much to my surprise, informed me of all this. I paid to re-instate my license while waiting for the provincial offences court date.)
Do these things ever come with a warrant for one's arrest or anything along those lines? I have had some panic/anxiety issues since the surgery that have yet to go away and am in too much of worry to make phone calls or anything helpful like that; any insight here would be most appreciative. My plan is to go in and pay ASAP, but I'm wondering how many unpleasant surprises will be waiting for me. (I do know that my license is, again, suspended.)
Right away, the first thing that you need to do is either (1) pay ALL the fines in full, or (2) ask to meet with a JP in order to get an extension of time to pay them. This will stop you from getting any further suspensions. Second thing you need to do, as soon as possible, is to decide what items you were not notified about and see if you can ask for either a re-opening or appeal against the charges or fines or penalties. All these things need to be done as soon as you become aware of the issues.
Right away, the first thing that you need to do is either (1) pay ALL the fines in full, or (2) ask to meet with a JP in order to get an extension of time to pay them. This will stop you from getting any further suspensions.
Second thing you need to do, as soon as possible, is to decide what items you were not notified about and see if you can ask for either a re-opening or appeal against the charges or fines or penalties.
All these things need to be done as soon as you become aware of the issues.
Thanks. I have the ability to go and pay everything in full and am hoping to do so tomorrow. I can't afford an attorney and was pretty much scoffed at by the judge re. the notice not arriving. Did I move? No. Well, your word against theirs, and... Yeah, mentioning it in court went absolutely nowhere. You'd think they'd use certified mail for "HEY YOUR LICENSE HAS BEEN SUSPENDED!" but apparently not. :-/ But I didn't know you could appeal these things, so thanks very much for giving me the idea (and for the rest of your response).
Thanks. I have the ability to go and pay everything in full and am hoping to do so tomorrow.
I can't afford an attorney and was pretty much scoffed at by the judge re. the notice not arriving. Did I move? No. Well, your word against theirs, and... Yeah, mentioning it in court went absolutely nowhere. You'd think they'd use certified mail for "HEY YOUR LICENSE HAS BEEN SUSPENDED!" but apparently not. :-/ But I didn't know you could appeal these things, so thanks very much for giving me the idea (and for the rest of your response).
I don't blame the JP for not believing you. You're clearly doing your best to minimize any responsibility you have in this matter. If it is that transparent in a text post on the internet, no wonder they saw right through you.
I don't blame the JP for not believing you. You're clearly doing your best to minimize any responsibility you have in this matter. If it is that transparent in a text post on the internet, no wonder they saw right through you.
...thanks, that's very helpful. I paid every fine stemming from the accident at the time right away, and, being a relatively new driver, was *extremely* surprised to find out *years* later that there was more to it; at the time I was of the understanding that the fines paid then and the one-month suspension were the end of it. I haven't moved in ten years, so how or why I didn't get the notification of the additional fine remains a mystery. When I had the fender-bender I got in touch with the police and the owner of the other car straight away. (When I was told of the additional problems I was -- I noticed -- one of perhaps two people in a busy courtroom who had bothered to dress nicely out of respect for being in a courtroom, even though mine was the most mild offence I heard dealt with that morning...) I offered the "did not receive any notice" by way of explanation but did not argue this; just said as much apologetically. I don't think there was much room for "disbelief" as I knew it was going to sound ridiculous that I didn't get the relevant bit of mail (though again, it turned out to be a common problem in my wee town when I asked around) and did not do anything beyond mention it; I did not suggest to the court that I was not guilty, knowing I had no way of making that provable, or even particularly believable. I'm not sure why you think I might have spent several years driving with a suspended license which would have cost $500 to sort out had I known about it, and which now costs quite a lot more and got me into quite a bit more trouble than it would have if I'd known and been able to deal with it promptly? If you want to clarify what part of "got in a bad situation, now trying to fix it, is there anything else I should know" looks like "doing your best to minimize any responsibility," do explain?
...thanks, that's very helpful. I paid every fine stemming from the accident at the time right away, and, being a relatively new driver, was *extremely* surprised to find out *years* later that there was more to it; at the time I was of the understanding that the fines paid then and the one-month suspension were the end of it. I haven't moved in ten years, so how or why I didn't get the notification of the additional fine remains a mystery. When I had the fender-bender I got in touch with the police and the owner of the other car straight away.
(When I was told of the additional problems I was -- I noticed -- one of perhaps two people in a busy courtroom who had bothered to dress nicely out of respect for being in a courtroom, even though mine was the most mild offence I heard dealt with that morning...)
I offered the "did not receive any notice" by way of explanation but did not argue this; just said as much apologetically. I don't think there was much room for "disbelief" as I knew it was going to sound ridiculous that I didn't get the relevant bit of mail (though again, it turned out to be a common problem in my wee town when I asked around) and did not do anything beyond mention it; I did not suggest to the court that I was not guilty, knowing I had no way of making that provable, or even particularly believable.
I'm not sure why you think I might have spent several years driving with a suspended license which would have cost $500 to sort out had I known about it, and which now costs quite a lot more and got me into quite a bit more trouble than it would have if I'd known and been able to deal with it promptly?
If you want to clarify what part of "got in a bad situation, now trying to fix it, is there anything else I should know" looks like "doing your best to minimize any responsibility," do explain?
Just an additional comment... My question would be, when was the last time you renewed your license (should be on your license)? It would not have been renewed if it was suspended.
Just an additional comment...
My question would be, when was the last time you renewed your license (should be on your license)?
It would not have been renewed if it was suspended.
Good question; thanks for giving me something else to puzzle out here. It was renewed without difficulty for two yearsc. 2014; the fine dates to 2012. (As a newish driver I made the mistake of thinking all driving-related everything was handled by one department/branch of gov't...)
Good question; thanks for giving me something else to puzzle out here. It was renewed without difficulty for two yearsc. 2014; the fine dates to 2012.
(As a newish driver I made the mistake of thinking all driving-related everything was handled by one department/branch of gov't...)
pulled over leaving a survey in guelph. After arguing with the officer for about 10 minutes, he mentioned something being wrong with my truck. Told me to put on my emergency brake, and i did. Told me to put it in gear, and i did, truck did not move. Told me to hit the gas, and i did and the truck…
Got two very heavy tickets -- for failing to stop for a school bus, and for using a handheld device. Was running late in a morning rush traffic in Toronto and apparently passed a school bus on the opposite side w/o noticing its signal. A few meters after that I stopped behind the other cars waiting…
I recently received a ticket for proceeding contrary to sign at an intersection. While there are other issues with the offence (sign is not visible until 10ft from intersection, officer wrote wrong license plate number on ticket) my biggest question is about the sign itself.
I posted here a *while* back when I first got my speeding ticket, and I've been fighting it forever. Anyway, long story short - I went and had an appeal and both the prosecutor and the Judge agree that I have valid grounds to appeal on, but what we're arguing is whether the correct remedy is a…
My wife had an auto accident back in May. It is gradually being dealt with by our insurance company ( by the broker actually). My question is about the legal power of the insurance code OAP1. Evidently this set of rules is the Ten Commandments for the insurance companies and the adjustors seem to…
What is the requirement for stopping when a school bus is traveling down the roadway, initiates the flashing red lights while still moving but has not yet stopped? If a motorist is traveling through an intersection (through the free-flow approach, minor-street stop controlled) and an oncoming…
In 2005, the government passed legislation that enabled the introduction of variable speed limits at some point in the future. It didn't take effect right away, so it sat waiting for "proclamation by the Lieutenant Governor." Just by chance... I was reading the HTA earlier while browsing this…
I was on my way to work on a divided four lane highway. I was in the right hand lane following the flow of traffic. There was a slower car ahead of me and I wanted to change lanes and maintain my speed. When I looked in my left side mirror, I notice a red car going pretty fast in the passing…
So i got charged with Hand Held Device, just want to ask everyone if i could use this as my defence
It was midnight, I was dropping my fiance to pick up something on north bound Yonge st (near church) with my emergency lights on, Officer came and asked me to move along so i went up a few streets and…