Speeding Ticket

shekaree · #1 01-28-2008, 01:33 PM

Guys, I got my first speeding ticket in Canada. I got a letter today with pictures of my car and it says I was speeding. The fine is $89.00

My question is what is the best option I have? If I pay the fine, will it go to my driving record or will points to put on my driving license? Will my insurance will go even higher?

I am new to this system and honestly, don't know how things works. Any advice will be great.

Thanks

JohninAB · #2 01-28-2008, 01:36 PM

With photo radar there are no demerits against your driver's license and hence no increase in your insurance. All they have is a car registered to you was speeding. They do not know who was driving hence no demerits.

nekred · #3 01-28-2008, 01:37 PM

It is all explained in the notice with your ticket.....

or you could just.....

SLOW DOWN!...

Chris K · #4 01-28-2008, 01:40 PM

You got a photo radar ticket! Welcome to the cash grabbing tactics of out local municipalities. You can plead not guilty and try fight it if you wish, but because photo radar tickets have no dimerits (as they are given to the registered owner of the vehicle, not the driver) you have nothing to really worry about, except the fact you have a few less dollars to spend on hunting or fishing stuff. These photo radar tickets are not reported to your insurance company and do not go on any perminant record that could up your rates. Most Canadian insurance companies will let you get away with a ticket with three or four dimerits before they raise your rates. Tickets here stay on your record for three years, and the dimerits come off after two years, but as I said before, there are none with photo radar. Get stopped by an officer, and then you have a bit more trouble on your hands. Chris K

Mish · #5 01-28-2008, 01:54 PM

You can either not do anything about it, plead not guilty and fight it, or go and ask for the ticket to be lessened.

But if you ever get pulled over by an actual cop your best bet is to go and plead with the judge. Tell them you'll pay the ticket if they take the demerits off. More often than not they'll take off all the demerits and take off a few bucks from your ticket.

But here's a little thing I learned....if you think you can somehow get out of it ($89, that's what, 20-25 over?), or there is the slightest chance the ticket could be wrong PLEAD NOT GUILTY. I have a theory on how these tickets work. Let's say the officer writes 100 tickets from the photo radar. 50 of them plead not guilty. He is going to look at the 50 of them and see which ones are open and shut cases...after all, there is no point in him showing up for 20 cases that he won't win. He will then withdraw the charges on those tickets which he doesn't know for sure he can win. I've tested this theory and it works 60% of the time (which may not be much, but it has saved me a bundle of money). Can you tell I used to speed a lot in my younger days?

Grizzly Adams · #6 01-29-2008, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mish

You can either not do anything about it, plead not guilty and fight it, or go and ask for the ticket to be lessened.

But if you ever get pulled over by an actual cop your best bet is to go and plead with the judge. Tell them you'll pay the ticket if they take the demerits off. More often than not they'll take off all the demerits and take off a few bucks from your ticket.

But here's a little thing I learned....if you think you can somehow get out of it ($89, that's what, 20-25 over?), or there is the slightest chance the ticket could be wrong PLEAD NOT GUILTY. I have a theory on how these tickets work. Let's say the officer writes 100 tickets from the photo radar. 50 of them plead not guilty. He is going to look at the 50 of them and see which ones are open and shut cases...after all, there is no point in him showing up for 20 cases that he won't win. He will then withdraw the charges on those tickets which he doesn't know for sure he can win. I've tested this theory and it works 60% of the time (which may not be much, but it has saved me a bundle of money). Can you tell I used to speed a lot in my younger days?

My theory is that if everyone fought every speeding ticket they got, The system would get totally bogged down and the cops would be a lot more selective about passing them out.
Grizz

Mish · #7 01-29-2008, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams

My theory is that if everyone fought every speeding ticket they got, The system would get totally bogged down and the cops would be a lot more selective about passing them out.
Grizz

Hmm...you may be on to something.

Okotokian · #8 01-29-2008, 10:07 AM

Here's a novel suggestion: Take responsibility for your actions. If you can admit to yourself that you were speeding, pay the ticket. Slow down next time if paying tickets bothers you. We all talk about how screwed up our legal system is, until we get involved in it, then we trade ideas on how to get around it or bog it down.

I can honestly say I WAS speeding every time I ever got a ticket. Would have been nice to have been let off with a warning that Christmas Eve when I was driving with my family, but I WAS speeding.

I eagerly await the next thread where we will discuss how to break the wildlife act and then get out of trouble

Dr. Phil A · #9 01-28-2008, 02:08 PM

They sent me a photo radar ticket so I sent them a photo of my cheque
They sent me a photo of a pair of handcuffs
'Nuf said. Sent them a cheque

nekred · #10 01-28-2008, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Welcome to the cash grabbing tactics of out local municipalities

If you don't speed the don't get cash!....

I have slowed down over the years.... If everyone did the same.... the photo radar would be gone!... Cops could do what they are suppossed to do!...

OutwardBound · #11 01-28-2008, 04:57 PM

Ya, going downtown and getting the ticket lessned is a good way to do it, Danni got a speeding ticket with points, and she couldn't make to the Justice of the Peace (JP) that day so i did it for her and the JP just said i'll make it 15 over and that was it (Originally 25 over) no explaining to do or anything, definitly worth it, About a $100 for a couple of hours.

Another thing with photo radar is i have heard before that unqualifed ppl will run the units and you get sent a ticket but if you go ask for the radar persons qualifcations and he's not qualifed your ticket will be throwen out, with all the labour shortages, espesially in the police force , i would believe that.

Again done at the same place downtown as where the JP is located.

Sorry thouht you lived in Calgary, but i'm sure the office would be the same in Edmonton

Dustin

dadof3bartas · #12 01-28-2008, 05:17 PM

hey,

a friend of mine just got a ticket and she went to fight it and didnt have to pay. i guess she asked to see the negative of the photo. most pics that they send out are cropped and if there is another car in the picture, even just a small bit you can argue that it could have been them instead of you. most often they will just send tickets because they are fishing for money anyway and if you go to the court you will see how many they actually give out. its a bit stupid and a scam really. they hope most people will pay without question and most do.