Not sure what to do. This is my first ticket. Accused of going 97 in a 60 but it was also a construction zone. Officer reduced it to 89 in a 60 as he said otherwise I would need to go straight to court (?). So it sounds pretty serious but he said nothing about dermit points. Ticket just says speeding 89 in a 60 with workers present. I know the officer would not 'bluff' the speed but I find it really hard to believe. In fact when I saw the lights behind me I didn't think it was for me. I was so shocked I didn't ask any questions or even what type of radar he had. He said nothing - just that I was speeding. It was dark, I didn't see any construction signs or warnings of such. It was also rush hour so the road was busy - and I was not passing anybody. But I did see flashing lights ahead of me (police had pulled someone over up ahead) so I had moved to the outside lane and was slowing down anyway. The cruiser behind me came out of nowhere. The construction was on the other side of the road (4 lanes) and quite a ways from where I was pulled over (ie. I don't think technically I was even in the construction zone - not sure how that works?). There is no mention of dermit points but the fine is $280. Should I fight it? Is there a risk I could get charged the original 'serious' offence the officer alluded to? Thanks for any assistance.

MelissaP wrote:

Not sure what to do. This is my first ticket. Accused of going 97 in a 60 but it was also a construction zone. Officer reduced it to 89 in a 60 as he said otherwise I would need to go straight to court (?). More than 30 over in a construction zone has no set fine - straight to court. So it sounds pretty serious but he said nothing about dermit points. Ticket just says speeding 89 in a 60 with workers present. 3 points for 16-29 km over, regardless of whether a construction zone. 4 points for 30+I know the officer would not 'bluff' the speed but I find it really hard to believe. In fact when I saw the lights behind me I didn't think it was for me. I was so shocked I didn't ask any questions or even what type of radar he had. He said nothing - just that I was speeding. It was dark, I didn't see any construction signs or warnings of such. It was also rush hour so the road was busy - and I was not passing anybody. But I did see flashing lights ahead of me (police had pulled someone over up ahead) so I had moved to the outside lane and was slowing down anyway. The cruiser behind me came out of nowhere. The construction was on the other side of the road (4 lanes) and quite a ways from where I was pulled over (ie. I don't think technically I was even in the construction zone - not sure how that works?)Irrelevant, speeding is an absolute liability offence, which means that you don't have the opportunity to say that you didn't know it was a construction zone or even that it wasn't properly marked.. There is no mention of dermit points but the fine is $280. Proper fine should be $217.50 w/ $272.50 total payableShould I fight it? Is there a risk I could get charged the original 'serious' offence the officer alluded to? The prosecutor can ask for the amount of speed to be upped to the original amount if you elect a trail.Thanks for any assistance.

Thanks for your thoughts - very helpful. So is my fine (yes, $272.50) only for the speeding infraction or is it more because of the construction? I am wondering if it would be less if I could successfully argue that it wasn't a construction zone. My ticket indicates he stopped me at the exact point of the construction but he didn't - he stopped me at least a km earlier (I am going to re-check this later today by doing a drive-by).

If I elect to go to court and lose - what would be the original offence penalty - just one extra demerit point? It seems worth it?

Yes, if you were to fight it it could go back up to the original 37 over, which is 1 more point, but also more money. The fine for the same speed in a non-construction zone is less money.