I am going to the justice of the peace tomorrow to fight a $120 speeding ticket! I was told that they won't erase the points I received, but there is a very high likelihood of my monetary fine being reduced.

Has anyone gone thru this and have some tips or hints to give me? What should I say as my explanation?

I was driving 25 over the limit on a 80km/hr highway. I was going home for a family turkey dinner driving a friend's car (which I will explain I was not used to driving).

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

sorry but 25 over? you deserve it, there other families on the road too ya know. fess up and pay the ticket be a man

Whats there to fight? You were speeding, plain and simple. Its not like it was a mistake that you got pulled over or anything. I can understand where you are coming from, but I don't see it going anywhere.

yah, there is no excuse for 25 over, that's a lot man.

There were no other cars on the highway!! It was literally me and the cop! What do ya mean I deserve it?

oh yea and learn to spell is "speeding" not "speedy"

I don't know what Canada's policy but here in the U.S you have to pay the ticket before you can challenge it. Its an awesome policy. Then you go to court where you don't stand a fighting chance pleading your case before the judge.

If you were going that fast, just take it, you know you were doing some reckless driving. You can try fighting it, but its an uphill battle.

I dont think this will make a difference, but im talking 25km over. Not 25miles!

Yeah...you might be out of luck on that one. 10-15 over you might be able to get lessened, or take driving school instead of getting a fine and points. 25 over is probably not going to be looked nicely upon.

Edit: What's the current fine?

Which highway where you on, because if you where on the queensway then I don't believe you for a second.

The policy is that I still plead completely GUILTY, I just give a reason for my actions and the court may be sympathetic to a $3000 per semester University student by cutting the fine down a bit!

Highway 6 between Fergus and Guelph

If it's the first time you got caught (IE: You're not in the same judge's face every week) then you should be okay. Just go and say that you are sorry and weren't used to the car, and that you would greatly appreciate any mercy they can afford you. Say it won't happen again.

Works all the time here in South Carolina. At least 75% of the tickets get at least a half reduction.

Oh, BTW: Metal_Urbain, it depends on the state you live in. Here, you can show up for your court date and they might reduce it. However, you have to have the money to pay the ticket on the spot. Once they "sentence" you, it's time to pay up. So you have to bring enough money for the entire thing just in case they don't reduce it.

Maybe you could be lucky and the cop doesn't show up because he is busy. You get away without not guilty. Other than that, you can't dodge it.

Thank you very much, but I have been driving for 5 years without a single ticket, took the complete Graduated licensing system, took drivers training! Will there by no mercy to a starving University student?

The fine was $120

Did a speed camera catch you? If it did you could go and chop down the camera and dispose of it somewhere....maybe the window of the cop station?

so let me get this straight, you were driving on the highway which had a max speed of 50MPH (80km/h)

and the speed you were traveling at was 65MPH

thats crazy! avg highway speeds here in the US are 60ish, you could try fighting it, don't know exactly how canada's policies work

The speed limit is the law, you were going over the limit therefore you deserve to be fined. I know not everybody that speeds gets caught and fined, but those that do get caught and then moan about it should just deal with it. You broke the law, pay the fine and carry on with life.

I dont think you guys understnad me!

Yes this is the first offence i have EVER been caught for! (my drivnig record was perfect)

I am not trying to get off scot free. I AM GOING TO PLEAD GUILTY! The was no quaetions about it, I was speeding...plain and simple!

I just want to judge to show some compassion and reduce the fine a little so that I can still afford to pay my tuition the next day! There will be no cop, just me and a justice of the piece rep.
It is not a full out trial since im pleading "Guilty with an explanation"

I talked to the justice once just say you were the only one on the road and that you know you should not have been speed and are sorry but if you get these points then your insurance will jump and you can barely afford it as is. You should be able to get knocked down by 10km to 15 (no points $50). Just make sure you give the impression that you will definatly be watching your speed in the future.

edit: i was doing 135 on highway 9. cop knocked it down to 129 and jp got it down to 110km/h. from 6 points and possible licence suspened to 3. That was when i as stupid (the road was totally empty and there is no chance of pedestrians so no one give me sh*t. also now i try to keep speeding to 15 over max.

no offense, but you were speeding. Pay the ticket and move on. Just cause you were the only one on the road doesn't give the permission to speed.

I was in no way trying to assault your driving ability, but when I got a ticket for running a temporary stop sign (One of those flip down ones), in a school zone no less, though it was a good 20 minutes before school let out, I got them to allow me to take some 8 hour course to get no points or fine. It was just a blow off thing where we were just forced to listen to this guy. No test or anything. Just had to show up and not sleep.

That is exactly what I was asking for! Thank-you! And yeah I know that my points are insurance aren't going anywhere but up!

Thanks!

I'm sorry...but $120 is not exactly going to rob you. If fines for speeding weren't detrimental there wouldn't be a big deal about getting one. The fine is supposed to be an inconvenience. There are always student loans you can get...that excuse won't fly.

road speeds in canada are bogus anyways. highway 400 and 404 should be 120 not 100 401 can be tight so 100 fits it. and all the 80 zones should be at least 90. i never speed in residential areas because then there is a safety concern but all these self-righteous people attacking you for speeding is retarded. I have driven to guelph (grandma lives there) and the roads are almost always empty and in good enough condition to be doing at least 100.

edit: good luck fighting the ticket.

What?

That's not true at all. In the US, once you've paid it it's pretty much over (unless you went to trial, and decide to appeal).


If you're honest and polite to the policeman you're likely to get off with a warning. Once you have a ticket, mail it in with a "not guilty" plea. Go to the court date. Usually you'll talk to the officer who pulled you over, and they'll offer you a plea bargain.

I've had a 95 in a 65 (MPH) reduced to a no-point violation and $100 fine. In another case, I've had a 95 in a 65 reduced to a 74 in 65. Those are the only tickets I've ever had.

And how did you get pulled over in Canada anyway?

I've driven to Montreal countless times on 401 and never once seen a police car. We usually drive 100-130 MPH around there.

Of course, that's nothing compared to driving in Germany

THERE WILL BE NO POLICE OFFICER!!!!!!

Nor do I! this was a "OMG, gotta get home for dinner, the highway is free, lets go 100 down it!"

Why would there be no cop? Did you get caught on those cameras that they place at the intersections? Otherwise, the cop would need to be there to be a witness.

i think he meant when u originally got the ticket.

edit:

heres how it works in Ontario

you get a ticket (which the cop may or may not bump down):

then you have 3 options

-plead guilty - pay it straight up (dumb idea)
-please guilty with explanation (this is where you talk to a Justice of the peace (he smooths things over) and try to get it reduced) there is no cop involvment
-plead not guilty - go to court (the cop is there and you try to legally defend your self (ie accidents not usually speeding unless it was something totally bogus u got called for)

He probably meant when you got pulled over in the first place. Unless he just didn't read the former posts.

In Vancouver we are dropping the residential speed from 50 km/h to 40 km/h.

Ah, appologies. In Los Angeles they make you pay it before you challenge it. Good luck trying to find a sympathteic policeman. With not nearly enough police on the streets, these guys are overworked and on edge.

How late would you have been if you had stayed to the limits. Would your dinner have been ruined?

In the U.S it's very simple. You hire an attorney who takes over the whole process for you. He then pleads one of several things such as Equipment or gets it dropped down to a lesser charge. You then just pay court and attorney fees ($100 - $300 depending on county/state), and you get no points on your license or insurance. I'm up to 3 tickets and 0 points so far. However it may be very different in Canada.

No, im choosing option 2: "Plead guilty with an explanation" I go to the justice office @ 9am, sign my name in a book, and wait in the courtroom with a bunch of other people, all of whom are explaining their actions surrounding getting the ticket. None of us are trying to get rid of the charge. We are getting fined no matter what. The only thing we are there to do is get the monetray fine reduced. If the officer was to show up, there would be a courtroom of 50 people, plus 50 different officers.

The only time the officer shows up is if you choose to plead "Innocent" and try and argue that you never should have gotten the ticket in the first place!

Get it?

No, it wouldn't have been, and next time i'll choose not to pay $120 for my meal!

You don't half have relaxed policies in the US! Policemen knocking down your speed by 20mph, being able to speed without getting penalty points. In the UK you will get no grace for speeding, or most other car-related crimes.

Just part of the war the government has against drivers

And to all you people who live in the states, 25km/h over the limit @ 6:00pm on a Saturday evening on an Ontario highway is not that fast!

If it were 25mph over during rush hour or something, I could see you point!

That's exactly what my parents always told me. If you figure out the actual time you "save" it's usually menial unless you're making a 10+ hour trip. Now...he was caught, and much later to arrive than he would have been had he just stayed within the limits. I've had two speeding tickets...never again. I'm always the unlucky one.

It may have been or he might have incovienenced the people he was going to see. I have driven on these roads they are literally straight for miles. the ground is flat so you can see way ahead and there are few if any intersections for extended stretches of road. i sincerely doubt anyone was put at risk from his driving. Getting charged for speed is supposed to make sure you are being safe. IMO There is absolutly NOTHING unsafe about 100 km/h (that is 62.1371192 mph) on a straight empty road. stop being so over zealous to critisize him. Like i said the speed limits are arbitrary in Canada. Ideally they would have summer and winter limits or varying limits based on weather but no such luck. HE WA NOT BEING DANGEROUS. The government is just cash grabbing the people.

It would have been really nice if someone would have said this to me ah..oh..5:30pm on Saturday evening! lol

just pay the goddamned fine and be done with it.

Shouldn't the government be working FOR the people in so called Democracies (well in Canadas case democracy). 90% of Canadians would agree the limits are bogus and were only lowered when we swtich from mph to km/h highways were 70 mph and back roads 60 mph. They pick 100km beause its a nice round number.

The government will always hit against the easiest targets, but a crime is a crime - you get caught, you pay the price.

If we didn't have some many do-gooders in this country, maybe the police could fight more crime instead of going after the easy targets.

That would be a sucker move. Why wouldn't you try to get it reduced. Im not going to bend over and take it so the government doesnt have to deal with my problem. The made it not me.

I find it very hard to believe that all the people who are criticizing me have never (or very rarely sped) in their driving careers! Now it would have been a different story if I came in here asking for help to get off scot free. But im not. So good luck to all you "perfect drivers"! And if you ever get a ticket, I walk you to walk in pay the entire fine, pay your tution the next day, pay your insurance a month later, then tell me how easy it is to "Suck it up man!"

Speeding is not a crime it is an infractions and who the hell do the government think they are making up bogus limits so they can fill their pockets with our hard earned money. I hate that expression more than anytying because you accept fault where you were not necessarily doing anything that was dangerous. Look at the logistics please.

There is nothing to argue.

From what i read...

Legally there is an "Actus Reus" - in otherwords.. the action was done.

Legally there was a "Mens Rea" - You intended to do the act

You were being criminally negligent.
You were being criminally reckless.

"which I will explain I was not used to driving" - This does not matter. If you were not used to the vehicle, then you should not have driven it.

This is an absolute liability offence, so you can offer no defence. Actually which reminds me, these offences do not require the mens rea anyway.


There just isn't anything to argue