I was pulled over by an OPP officer on Highway 7. I was told I was driving 35 km over the speed limit. I live over 75 km away so I am trying to decide whether to go the early resolution route and discuss the ticket over the phone with the Prosecutor myself or pay a Paralegal to represent me. I do not dispute I was speeding (although I do not feel I was going at that rate). The officer did not give me a break, he gave me a ticket for the full amount he indicated that he recorded. I am really upset over my driving on that day, speeding is out of character for me and I have a very safe and clean driving record for many years which I hope will be taken into consideration. Can anyone tell me if a prosecutor generally offers much of a reduction (especially demerit points) in early resolution when speaking directly with the driver? Or, would I be more likely to get a better outcome by paying $400 to a paralegal to plea my fine?
I was pulled over by an OPP officer on Highway 7. I was told I was driving 35 km over the speed limit. I live over 75 km away so I am trying to decide whether to go the early resolution route and discuss the ticket over the phone with the Prosecutor myself or pay a Paralegal to represent me. I do not dispute I was speeding (although I do not feel I was going at that rate). The officer did not give me a break, he gave me a ticket for the full amount he indicated that he recorded. I am really upset over my driving on that day, speeding is out of character for me and I have a very safe and clean driving record for many years which I hope will be taken into consideration.
Can anyone tell me if a prosecutor generally offers much of a reduction (especially demerit points) in early resolution when speaking directly with the driver? Or, would I be more likely to get a better outcome by paying $400 to a paralegal to plea my fine?
If your goal is to simply receive a reduction, save your money and do it yourself. You're in a position where a paralegal isn't necessary. This gets said repeatedly around here, but points are rather worthless. Unless you're not a fully licensed driver or you manage to get pulled over every other week, they are mostly meaningless. Your insurance doesn't care about them and you have to rack up a mountain of them before they have meaning. They last 2 years from the day you were pulled over before they disappear and don't show up until a conviction. In terms of insurance, it's not going to matter whether it's 35, 29, or 15km. It's pretty much all the same to them until you get to 50km. So whether you drop down a couple kilometers or skim off some points, it's not of any interest to them. 1-49km is considered a minor offense and will be treated all the same. Realistically, you're saving money on the fine and that's about it.
If your goal is to simply receive a reduction, save your money and do it yourself. You're in a position where a paralegal isn't necessary.
This gets said repeatedly around here, but points are rather worthless. Unless you're not a fully licensed driver or you manage to get pulled over every other week, they are mostly meaningless. Your insurance doesn't care about them and you have to rack up a mountain of them before they have meaning. They last 2 years from the day you were pulled over before they disappear and don't show up until a conviction.
In terms of insurance, it's not going to matter whether it's 35, 29, or 15km. It's pretty much all the same to them until you get to 50km. So whether you drop down a couple kilometers or skim off some points, it's not of any interest to them. 1-49km is considered a minor offense and will be treated all the same.
Realistically, you're saving money on the fine and that's about it.
Thank you so much for responding, that makes me feel a bit better. Because of my normally good driving habits, I was offered and purchased a Minor conviction waiver on my insurance where it won't go up for a minor conviction. I was concerned that my insurance company would not consider it minor because of the 4 (or even 3 points if reduced). Are you fairly sure that anything under 50km is considered minor? Thanks so much for any info you are able to provide.
Thank you so much for responding, that makes me feel a bit better. Because of my normally good driving habits, I was offered and purchased a Minor conviction waiver on my insurance where it won't go up for a minor conviction. I was concerned that my insurance company would not consider it minor because of the 4 (or even 3 points if reduced). Are you fairly sure that anything under 50km is considered minor? Thanks so much for any info you are able to provide.
ok well here is my story .. I had an old megaphone from alarm system and decided since my horns on my car were rusted and were not making a loud enough sound.. i connected the alarm megaphone to the horn wires and it sounded very cool. depending on how log i hold my horn down for . due to the size of the power horn.. and mhy car being a Honda.. meaning no room under the hood i had installed it…
So I got this ticket because the lady behind me was WAY too close and I had to back up before getting hit by another car and dented her bumper.
Offense is stated as follows: Start from Stopped position - Not in Safety
Highway Traffic Act 142 (2)
First of all, I don't really know what that means and if it says that I was not in safety (which I wasn't) why am I getting a ticket? And why didn't the…
This is my first time ever getting a ticket and I am completely frustrated and don't know what to do.
On July 7th, I was driving to work, taking my usual route and it's about a 15 minute drive for me. At the first red light, I noticed I had a bit of time thanks to the countdown so I quickly reached into my bag to grab a lip balm. I noticed I had brought the wrong one so I just kept it out and…
It happened last December. I was facing north in the middle of the intersection at Donmills and McNicoll waiting to make a left turn. There was a big white van on the other side of McNicoll facing south waiting to turn left too. When the light changed to amber, I checked and the road was clear, there was no upcoming vehicle. So slowly I made the left turn. Suddenly a small car dashed up from…
First off, the most similar case and HELPFUL thread has y far come from neo333: a great read and very similar and relevant to my case and of course ticketcombat.com
I'll cole's notes this so that it can be concise and can recap my experience with disclosure, notes and failed stay request and adjourned court date. Thank you for reading and leaving your opinion.
I got a notice in the mail that trial is set four weeks from today, so it's time to request disclosure. I have zero chance of getting an 11b since trial is less than two months after the offense date and the officer did not reduce the charge. I really want to try and create delays on the trial, to reduce the chance of the officer showing up on multiple occasions. Is there any known loop-holes…
Got my first ticket last Thursday and I have a couple of questions. I was driving westbound on Moore St. (west of Bayview) and made a left onto a residential street at a 4-way stop sign. It was my first time driving through that area - was driving my girlfriend to a wisdom tooth surgery.
The police were set up to catch people, as that intersection had a no left turn sign from 7-9 am (buses…
I was in a light collision with a police vehicle last November and will be having a trial by the end of the month. What happened was I was pulled over. I stopped and kept my right signal on. The cop car then tried to pull behind me when he was on my left but 2 cars pulled behind me. The cop wasn't too smart and instead of waiting for the two cars to pull away, he drove forward and boxed all the…
A friend of mine (who is from China and with no knowledge of English at all) asked me to interpret for him on court.
He got pulled over by a stealth patrol car last october, got 3 tickets (fail to show insurance card, using cell phones and fail to stop on right for emergency vehicle) , court date is next week. He told me his insurance expired for less than a month and other charges are false…
My husband was driving my car and passed a school bus with flashing lights. He did not realize this until he was past the bus. The driver honked at him but there were no cops nearby and he didn't get pulled over. I believe the driver or witnesses reported this and we got issued a ticket in the mail. The ticket is under my name as the registered owner: charged with Fail to Stop for…
I have just got a ticket (Fail to yield on through highway) and by the way it's me first ticket and this is how I got it.
Me driving in a residential neighborhood maybe 10-15 km/h approaching a stop sign completely stopped at the stop sign started moving again turning right and out of nowhere I was hit by this van. he went directly to the driver's side fender,wheel, and bumper. Since it was my…
Hi I'm new to this forum but I hope I'm bringing you all good news.
I recently wrote a book short titled ABUSE OF POWER
This book is all about how the Ontario government broke the law to enact the new street racing legislation.
To start with the denial of the right to remain innocent until proven guilty was enacted without due process under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. How it wasn't done…
So i lent my car to my gf the other day and she went to drop her friend at a Go station but when she was turning left into the parking lot at the Go station a bus hits her from behind while she was turning so now my rear fender is pushed in and more scrathes and my bumper is damaged...but the cop that showed up just kept telling my gf thats its her fault cause its private property...is that true…
Hi, thanks for reading. I've read a bunch of articles online and searched the forum to try and find my answers but I'm still unsure so I'm creating a new thread.
I was following a car that was going SUPER fast down the DVP but I got pulled over. I was speeding, too; however I don't want to use the "you got the wrong guy" defence because I'll probably lose.
I left my home at 4 am to pick up my daughter from downtown Toronto. When I passed the major intersection south of my house there were two police cars in the middle of the intersection and one officer waved me through the intersection.
When I returned with my daughter at 5:30 am the police cars were still in the intersection. I slowed down as I approached the intersection but the police were no…
I will be representing my wife at her speeding trial next week. Mostly everything is pretty much run of the mill but since she wasn't speeding we will be having her take the stand. Since this opens up the opportunity for the prosecutor to cross examine, I am just wondering if anyone here knows what kind of questions we should expect from the prosecutor in order to best prepare.
When the court sends out the notice of trial, do they use the address the officer wrote on the ticket, or the actual address in the MTO database? In the case of the former, what are the implications? The reason I ask is that my wife got a ticket last week and the officer wrote the wrong city on it.
This topic discusses the same thing but with CN police; is it any different for regular offences?
Driving onto ramp entering a major highway, posted limit is 100km/h, suggested ramp limit is 40km/h - I end up colliding with the concrete barrier on the passenger side of the vehicle.
Police arrive, suspect alcohol and breathalyze me with a result of 0.00 - I am asked for a statement and cautioned, however (stupidly) I proceed to provide the details anyways.
My friends and I were heading to Kelso Beach, I had signalled and i pulled off to the shoulder as my car seemed to be making noise, but after riding over the shoulder the noise stopped, i signalled back again and merged back into traffic after making sure it was safe, the officer which was ahead of me on the shoulder a few meters away pulled me over.…
I've decided to fight a traffic ticket for stop sign violation. The offense was 12 months ago, and I've got a court date for next Tuesday. I've requested disclosure and, although a bit last minute, received it two weeks before my court date.
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I will be going to trial for my red light camera offence.
I'll be arguing two issues, centered on the fact that there are two essential elements of 144(18) - a) a vehicle approaching the intersection shall stop; and b) the vehicle shall not proceed until green. Both essential elements must be contravened beyond a reasonable doubt to be an offence.
1) My ticket says I (being the owner) am "charged…
I'm a newbie, so be kind if I'm messing up. Question: is it illegal to signal oncoming traffic that they are approaching a speed trap by flashing one's lights?
I ask because I was stopped for doing that yesterday evening, but did not end up with a ticket. The officer spend 5-10 minutes n his car, then sent me on my way. I'm wondering if he changed his mind or found out it was legal.
ok well here is my story .. I had an old megaphone from alarm system and decided since my horns on my car were rusted and were not making a loud enough sound.. i connected the alarm megaphone to the horn wires and it sounded very cool. depending on how log i hold my horn down for . due to the size of the power horn.. and mhy car being a Honda.. meaning no room under the hood i had installed it…