Hey,

I am a long time lurker of this site and had a quick question.

I got a ticket for 5 km/h that was reduced down from 12 km/h over. I was driving eastbound on Gerrard St in Toronto and there was a van stopped in the right lane (there is no stopping from 4pm-6pm). So I increased my speed to merge into traffic and there was a cop doing radar right after the van.

My question is, should I fight the ticket or just pay the $40 fine?

Thanks in advance.

12km/h over? Thats harsh..

IMO I would fight it. The worst case scenerio you would lose with a 12 km/h offense on your record instead of 5 km/h over.

Not much insurance change there for the charge.

Good case scenerio, cop may not show up, prosecutor might not feel like fighting such a low charge is a waste of time. You might be able to get it dropped at First Attendance if you can prove a good solid driving record. Take a copy of your drivers abstract to First Attendance and ask for leniency.

Thanks for the quick reply, should of made myself more clear. The cop dropped the charge and only gave me a 5 km over. So if I lose its a 5km/h over charge on my record I believe. But, yea its only my second traffic violation since I started driving 8 years ago (cars and bikes).

Theres actually not much difference between being 12km over or 5km over in the eyes of insurance, because its STILL a conviction.

I was suggesting to fight it because you may be able to get it dropped more easily than a higher charge such as careless. Prosecutor's don't really care to go on trial with low end offenders, when they can challenge speeding over 30 kms.

Your charge is very low and its pretty much a waste of time for an officer to even issue IMO.

I would definitely try to fight this and risk the 12 km over charge. Getting dropped 7 km on road side isn't a good drop. Most likely its so low the officer assumes you will just pay the ticket.

Once again I appreciate the reply. Your right, there really is no difference between the two charges, so i really have nothing to lose. Hopefully, they just drop the ticket.

Thanks

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typerr wrote:

Once again I appreciate the reply. Your right, there really is no difference between the two charges, so i really have nothing to lose. Hopefully, they just drop the ticket.

Thanks

Any update to share with this? Did they drop or has the court date been given?

if you do go to trial mention the van...... details about the no stopping.... speeding as a necessity... could work.