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Old 10-25-2008, 01:05 PM
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Dylan Dylan is offline
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Edmonton
Posts: 51
Default Photo of a Cheque

As I heard it years ago, it was a joke.

The guy received a photo radar ticket in the mail, so he sent in a photo of the cheque, in the amount of the fine. The agency then sent him back a photo of a pair of handcuffs, and he decided to pay his fine.

Just a bit of humour!

I know what you mean though, man - those can be a real b*tch and I've had a few where I was confident I wasn't in the wrong. I do speed when I consider it safe to do so, and when I'm guilty, I pay my tickets. I put on alot of miles for my job, both city and highway and I take that chance. I man-up and pay my fine whenever I get caught doing what I know I should be doing.

On the other hand though, I'm a man of principle and I will defend myself when I believe I've been falsely accused, or I have a "good reason.

Like the others have said, it it's worth it to go fight it on pricinple, do so, and often times they'll just toss it. If it's worth it for you to spend most of the day waiting for your turn in court, then go plead your case. Even if still convicted of the offense the judge will often grant a reduced fine/charge, time to pay, etc.

Your defense seems legitimate and the onus is on the court to PROVE it was you, the onus is NOT on you to prove your innocence. I had a ticket dropped (a real ticket, not photo) because a punk kid was changing lanes erratically and tailgating, so I sped up to get out of the lane - just as I did so, I got nailed with laser. I thanked the officer for his time, as it isn't his job to determine guilt. I fought the ticket, and the judge tossed it.

I had one a couple years back, in the fall where I had just put my winter tires on for the year. The black steel rims and tires are overall about 3 inches taller than my summer, lo-profile tires. That makes a big difference on the speedometer, and although I make a point of adjusting accordingly, I had just put them on for the year and wasn't thinking. I came over the J MacDonald bridge in Edmonton, my laser detector went off, I checked my speedo and was doing exactly the limit. When I got waved over, I went "crap! the bigger tires"! Again, thanked the officer, and when I went to court, I told the whole story, including the fact that I checked my speed due to my laser detector going off. Judge ruled in my favour and told me I should get properly sized tires or have my system re-calibrated!

In another instance, I was on the phone with EPS dispatch, reporting a suspected impaired driver (3:00AM). EPS told me to keep up with him as it was safe to do so, but not to jeopardize the public safety. The drunk driver sailed thru a yellow light, leaving me with stopped at a red. No traffic coming from either direction, clear roads and good visibility so I proceeded through the light after making a full stop. Sure enough I got a red light ticket (photo) and between the police report, the transcript from EPS dispatch and the times matching up, that ticket was tossed also.

Thats the biggest issue I have with photo enforcement from a legal an philisophical standpoint. Its all black and white, with no room for human interest or compassion. They leave that side of it up to the courts I suppose, but if you explain it on the side of the road like you can with real police, you dont need to waste a day in court to accomplish the same objective.....

A justice of the peace is an option too, and you can often just "drop in" without waiting for your court date but he can't dismiss a charge, only offer concessions like time to pay, reduced fine, etc.

I just finished fighting one, and assuming they haven't cleared the backlog at the courts, expect your court date to be sometime next spring or summer!
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-Dylan