Hi guys,

I received a ticket by a police officer for passing through yellow(it was INDEED yellow, not red) light in Ottawa. He told me that I passed through "stale yellow light" but because my driving record is "not that bad" (no any infractions whatsoever), he will "go easy on me" and charged me under Ottawa city bylaw 2003-530 section 86 - Disobey traffic control device (Red Light).

I asked if that will go to insurance companies or my driving record and he mentioned that since it is under bylaw statute and not under ON HTA, it will not give me any demerit points and will NOT go on my record and will NOT be reported to insurance companies - basically parking ticket equivalent.

I am bit leery on this (this is my first ticket ever), so can you confirm/refute this?

Thanks in advance.

Hello kkostadinof, and welcome to the forum.

The Ottawa city bylaw 2005-530 section 86 states:

"Despite any provisions of this by-law, every person shall promptly obey all signals given by a traffic control signal, traffic control device or an authorized or official sign and all directions given by a police officer and nothing in this by-law shall affect the powers to regulate traffic held by the Ottawa Police Services Board."

The wording is really vague, but it is a bylaw. I would not worry about bylaws, but did the policeman really write "Red Light" on the ticket?

Hello racer,

Thank you for your reply and welcome.

Yes, the exact wording is the same as I put it in my initial post:

Disobey traffic control device (Red Light)

i.e. Red light in brackets

So , you are saying I come out pretty much clean out of this ?

(less 35$ of course - that was the ticket amount)

kkostadinof wrote:Hello racer,

So , you are saying I come out pretty much clean out of this ?

(less 35$ of course - that was the ticket amount)

Yup.

If you are not sure however about any other repercussions, it is a good idea to talk to JP - they might not reduce your fine, but they will know for sure whether or not the insurance company will get that ticket. Although the insurance company shouldn't get it - it is a bylaw violation, not OHTA one.

Hello racer,

I decided to pay the ticket and when I called the City of Ottawa phone line to pay it, the lady confirmed that it does not go to my driving record because it does not involve demerit points.

I guess/hope this means not going to insurance company either...

hello kkostadinof.

It is good to hear that all had worked out as nicely as expected. Please come back and join different discussions on the forum.