Hi everyone,

As the subject states I got a ticket driving my friends car with expired sticker. I want to take it to trial because if I just plead guilty and pay it, it will go on record and insurance may use it to raise my premiums in the future. So I was wondering, given the fact that it wasn't my car...do I have a chance in court?

number21 wrote:

So I was wondering, given the fact that it wasn't my car...do I have a chance in court?

You are responsible as the driver of a vehicle to make sure it is suitable for the road, whether it's yours or not.

Whether or not you are offered a plea deal right before trial is one thing, but you are not going to be successful in a trial with your current intentions.

bend wrote:

number21 wrote:

So I was wondering, given the fact that it wasn't my car...do I have a chance in court?

You are responsible as the driver of a vehicle to make sure it is suitable for the road, whether it's yours or not.

Whether or not you are offered a plea deal right before trial is one thing, but you are not going to be successful in a trial with your current intentions.

That's actually incorrect. The owner of the vehicle is responsible for ensuring their vehicle is insured, has proper validation and permits, ect... In the end, someone will have to pay the ticket and it's probably going to be the owner. It is the owner'vehicle afterall which also mean it is their expired validation sticker. The friend can't be responsible for an expired validation sticker because they aren't even able to renew the sticker themselves. It's not their vehicle.

You do have a chance but it will only end up giving the fine to your Friend who owns the vehicle. He/she may not be happy with you after that and you probably won't be allowed to drive their car anymore. I'm just guessing here, but you aren't the owner of the vehicle and therefore cannot renew the sticker. The fine won't be dropped because the validation tag was expired but that is your friend's responsibility unless they planned on not using the vehicle until they renewed the sticker but you borrowed it without permission. In that case, you could be charged with theft and be given the fine for the expired sticker.

Insurance could care less that a validation was expired, doesn't make you a higher risk.

And you have a zero percent chance of winning in court, you could have checked it prior to driving it.

Having said that, your previous driving record might work in your favour and prosecutor might have some mercy, but not sure what you'd get it lowered to.

rvbfan2011 wrote:

That's actually incorrect. The owner of the vehicle is responsible for ensuring their vehicle is insured, has proper validation and permits, ect... In the end, someone will have to pay the ticket and it's probably going to be the owner. It is the owner'vehicle afterall which also mean it is their expired validation sticker. The friend can't be responsible for an expired validation sticker because they aren't even able to renew the sticker themselves. It's not their vehicle.

7 (1) No person shall drive a motor vehicle on a highway unless,

(a) there exists a currently validated permit for the vehicle;

The driver is responsible regardless of who owns the vehicle. This notion of "I don't own the vehicle, therefore I can't renew the stickers so it's not my problem" is a plea of ignorance. If the stickers are expired, then you don't drive the vehicle regardless of who owns it.

The owner is responsible if he or she is either the driver or has been issued a municipal bylaw ticket for either having the vehicle parked on the street or in a driveway with expired stickers. Otherwise, if you drive your vehicle on a Ontario highway, it's your problem.

Secondly, this thread is over 4 years old.

rvbfan2011 wrote:

bend wrote:

number21 wrote:

So I was wondering, given the fact that it wasn't my car...do I have a chance in court?

You are responsible as the driver of a vehicle to make sure it is suitable for the road, whether it's yours or not.

Whether or not you are offered a plea deal right before trial is one thing, but you are not going to be successful in a trial with your current intentions.

That's actually incorrect. The owner of the vehicle is responsible for ensuring their vehicle is insured, has proper validation and permits, ect... In the end, someone will have to pay the ticket and it's probably going to be the owner. It is the owner'vehicle afterall which also mean it is their expired validation sticker. The friend can't be responsible for an expired validation sticker because they aren't even able to renew the sticker themselves. It's not their vehicle.

You're right - the driver can't renew the sticker because it's not their car.......BUT........their option is not to drive the car. If you drive, you need to make sure the car is legal.

FyreStorm wrote:

Insurance could care less that a validation was expired, doesn't make you a higher risk.

And you have a zero percent chance of winning in court, you could have checked it prior to driving it.

Having said that, your previous driving record might work in your favour and prosecutor might have some mercy, but not sure what you'd get it lowered to.

This ticket will affect insurance - not by much if it's a first one but it is still listed as a minor:

https://www.insurancehotline.com/ticket ... nce-rates/