[ik999]

I was recently stopped by a cop for going 105 in a 70.


here's what happened:
I was driving in a new development area (really nice road). There was a minivan beside me doing 80. He kept dipping dangerously into my lane, so I increased my speed to get ahead. I depressed the throttle slightly, nothing wild. I thought the speed limit for the road was 80, btw.

Just my luck, there was a police cruiser hiding in the field.

I received 3 tickets:

1 for going 10 over in a 70 zone (he reduced the offense)
1 for failing to surrender insurance paper
1 for failing to surrender vehicle permit paper

The terrible thing is that the papers where in fact in the car. It's just I had forgotten where I put them. Normally, there is a small compartment on the left-hand side to put these papers in, but there isn't one in this car for some reason.

The officer said that if I take the ticket to court, I won't be fighting the reduced ticket, but rather the full offense (35 over). Is this true?

Also, if I fight the administrative tickets, what will be the probable outcome?

[pokerface]

The officer said that if I take the ticket to court, I won't be fighting the reduced ticket, but rather the full offense (35 over).

I don't get why they keep saying that.

The offense registered would be whatever was written down on the ticket, wouldn't it? So if he put you down for 10 over then you're fighting for 10 over.

How come you didn't just ask him to wait while you look for the papers? If this was your car and you knew for a fact that the papers were in the car, perhaps headache would be solved by just searchign for them right then and there.

[scoop]

Originally Posted by pokerface

I don't get why they keep saying that.

The offense registered would be whatever was written down on the ticket, wouldn't it? So if he put you down for 10 over then you're fighting for 10 over.

How come you didn't just ask him to wait while you look for the papers? If this was your car and you knew for a fact that the papers were in the car, perhaps headache would be solved by just searchign for them right then and there.

+1
The officer cannot upgrade the charges beyond what was written on the ticket.
Perhaps you misunderstood. I was caught in a similar situation when I had neglected to change the address on my driver's licence and I was ticketed for $100 or so.
However, I was told that if I actually WENT to court with the proper papers, the charges would be dismissed.

[ik999]

thanks for the replies

I suspected that what he said about fighting the full offense was untrue, but wasn't very sure.

So now I'm going to fight all 3 tickets.

[ik999]

Originally Posted by pokerface

I don't get why they keep saying that.

The offense registered would be whatever was written down on the ticket, wouldn't it? So if he put you down for 10 over then you're fighting for 10 over.

How come you didn't just ask him to wait while you look for the papers? If this was your car and you knew for a fact that the papers were in the car, perhaps headache would be solved by just searchign for them right then and there.

I didn't search more thoroughly because I started to doubt whether they were actually there or not.

[pokerface]

cools. well, GL with getting everything sorted out.

I got stopped doing 30 over back in january, and now i have a night court date for december.. I duno If I should go to a ticket fighter as I saw the radar reading (rear-facing moving radar, who knew?) and it was pretty clear cut.

[ik999]

okay

I went to the office and requested a court date for the 3 tickets. They should arrive in the mail soon.

I'm not very familiar with this whole process, so I have a few questions:
- I can still cancel the trial and pay the fine at any time, right?
- Can my insurance company do anything before the trial?
- What should I do if the policeman doesn't show?

[ctgazer]

Originally Posted by ik999

okay

I went to the office and requested a court date for the 3 tickets. They should arrive in the mail soon.

I'm not very familiar with this whole process, so I have a few questions:
- I can still cancel the trial and pay the fine at any time, right?
- Can my insurance company do anything before the trial?
- What should I do if the policeman doesn't show?

not sure about the first 2 ?'s....but the last, well, it has been led to believe that if the policeman doesnt show, then the court throws out the charges. this is not true and is some kind of twisted folklore. the city has the right to continue to pursue the charges against you even without the presence of the officer. he does not represent the city, but merely a "witness". obviously your chances of winning are substantially increased, but it is then up to the judge to decide your fateGL!

[MOAB]

Originally Posted by ik999

okay

I went to the office and requested a court date for the 3 tickets. They should arrive in the mail soon.

I'm not very familiar with this whole process, so I have a few questions:
- I can still cancel the trial and pay the fine at any time, right?
- Can my insurance company do anything before the trial?
- What should I do if the policeman doesn't show?

1. Not sure, but I would say probalby yes. You will have to re-attend the court office and ask to chnage your plea and pay the fine. Given the administraive backlog, I would think they would be happy to accomodate you.

2. No. First off, they wouldn't know about your ticket. Second, there is a presumption of innocent until proven guilty in this country. Therefore, until the court finds otherwise, you have not broken any laws.

3. If the officer doesn't show, then the Province cannot establish its case and the Crown will be forced to withdraw the charges. Don't let them intimidate you into thinking otherwise. You have the right to challenge the evidence of the officer and if he is not there to be examined, you win.

I would just proceed to take your chances at trial. Because of the huge backlog, you are most likely looking at a court date several months away so you can, at a minimum, postpone any insurance increase for that time. And if you are lucky, the officer won't show.

[Lodaka]

These days, unless there is an extreme emergency, police offiers put their court dates as one of their priorities. Or, so I was told... so take it for what it's worth. By the way, during the trial, it's safe not to admit that you were over the limit even by 1 km/h. Let the officer show and "prove" that you were over, and make sure to challenege any evidence that the officer brings up with respect to that. I've seen judges get fed up and just find against the speeder even for 1 km/h.

[achien]

No, since the ticket indicates you were going 10km/h over, the charges will be drop completely if the cop indicates you were going 35km/h over.

In addition, he/she will get into a lot of trouble by falsifying information on the ticket.

Fight this one, you have a pretty good chance on getting the speeding ticket charges drop. Not much you can do on the missing insurance paper and missing vehicle permit charges though.

Originally Posted by ik999

I was recently stopped by a cop for going 105 in a 70.

...

The officer said that if I take the ticket to court, I won't be fighting the reduced ticket, but rather the full offense (35 over). Is this true?

Also, if I fight the administrative tickets, what will be the probable outcome?

[ik999]

Originally Posted by achien

No, since the ticket indicates you were going 10km/h over, the charges will be drop completely if the cop indicates you were going 35km/h over.

In addition, he/she will get into a lot of trouble by falsifying information on the ticket.

Fight this one, you have a pretty good chance on getting the speeding ticket charges drop. Not much you can do on the missing insurance paper and missing vehicle permit charges though.

are you certain?

if it's true, then I'm saved.

I don't mind the administrative tickets; they don't affect my insurance.