[A.Kon]

Originally Posted by victor328

I don't know if that's something I can bring up in court, "how come I got pulled over and the car next to me didn't ?"

Don't even bother - there's plenty of instructions here and on the web of how to fight your tickets.



fight you ticket. It'll be at least a year for them to get you a court date anyway.

[Alex_bm]

Got stopped today going 91 in 70 zone. Cop reduced the speed to 85 being it my first offence, so there are no dimerit point and the fine is 52$.
He also said if I go to court he will produce an original speed of 91 and therefore I will get 3 points with higher fine.

Do you guys think it's worth taking it to trial? Just in case the cop shows up, how do you argue with speed you were recorded?

[ims]

Originally Posted by Alex_bm

Got stopped today going 91 in 70 zone. Cop reduced the speed to 85 being it my first offence, so there are no dimerit point and the fine is 52$.
He also said if I go to court he will produce an original speed of 91 and therefore I will get 3 points with higher fine.

Do you guys think it's worth taking it to trial? Just in case the cop shows up, how do you argue with speed you were recorded?

if you read the driver's hand book it says +/- 16 km per hour is no ticker... and ur at 15?? wtf

[Alex_bm]

Haven't read that one in a while, lol
isn't it +/- 10% posted speed limit???

Originally Posted by ims

if you read the driver's hand book it says +/- 16 km per hour is no ticker... and ur at 15?? wtf

[ims]

Originally Posted by Alex_bm

Haven't read that one in a while, lol
isn't it +/- 10% posted speed limit???

well if u can find it in the hand book.. ur game to get it off is what i meant... i've heard everything from +-5, +-16 but i know when i see a cop im at a tolerance of +-0.05 km/h.

With recorded speed you should ask how you were recorded, (using laser gun most likely in which case its harder and u should just plead guilty for reduced fine) how is the officer sure it was your car? and if he paced you was his speedo calibrated/tested the day of or morning of. Lastly if the officer has reduced ur ticket there is probably an R in the CODE section bottom right of the ticket and maybe the original speed meaning if u take it to court you have chances of being charged and convicted of the original speed. shouldnt really dispute a no demerit point ticket when reduced... $52.00 is not bad for ur original speed.

[Alex_bm]

Thanks for the tips. You are right, it was the R code thing. I am not very upset with the fine, as I know it could be much worse.
My only concern is insurance. The first offence should not make a difference, but from my past experience these things can come in bunches. It would be a big deal to get another ticket.
Guess need to be extra careful in the next 3 years

Originally Posted by ims

well if u can find it in the hand book.. ur game to get it off is what i meant... i've heard everything from +-5, +-16 but i know when i see a cop im at a tolerance of +-0.05 km/h.

With recorded speed you should ask how you were recorded, (using laser gun most likely in which case its harder and u should just plead guilty for reduced fine) how is the officer sure it was your car? and if he paced you was his speedo calibrated/tested the day of or morning of. Lastly if the officer has reduced ur ticket there is probably an R in the CODE section bottom right of the ticket and maybe the original speed meaning if u take it to court you have chances of being charged and convicted of the original speed. shouldnt really dispute a no demerit point ticket when reduced... $52.00 is not bad for ur original speed.

[ims]

Originally Posted by Alex_bm

Thanks for the tips. You are right, it was the R code thing. I am not very upset with the fine, as I know it could be much worse.
My only concern is insurance. The first offence should not make a difference, but from my past experience these things can come in bunches. It would be a big deal to get another ticket.
Guess need to be extra careful in the next 3 years

man if ur in Ontario ur just gonna drive the car under 2.5K-3K RPM and just prep it for the track to unleash! best mod is to preserve the power for when u really want it...

[Alex_bm]

I hear ya

Originally Posted by ims

man if ur in Ontario ur just gonna drive the car under 2.5K-3K RPM and just prep it for the track to unleash! best mod is to preserve the power for when u really want it...

[victor328]

How come the cop who pulled me over didn't reduce my speed ?? I had a clean record up until now. And how does he know it was my car ? there was a civic driving right along side me doing the same speed !

[Alex_bm]

In your case it's a no brainer, take it to the court!

Originally Posted by victor328

How come the cop who pulled me over didn't reduce my speed ?? I had a clean record up until now. And how does he know it was my car ? there was a civic driving right along side me doing the same speed !

[alexmadison]

Have any of you guys tried that GPS program that alerts you to speed traps. looks interesting. I was thinking of trying out phantom alert. anyone with personal experience in here?

http://phantomalert-review.blogspot.com/

[ctgazer]

Originally Posted by victor328

How come the cop who pulled me over didn't reduce my speed ?? I had a clean record up until now. And how does he know it was my car ? there was a civic driving right along side me doing the same speed !

Originally Posted by Alex_bm

In your case it's a no brainer, take it to the court!

but what's your argument?

"i was doing the same speed as the car next to me, your honor..."
"and what speed was that? was it still over the limit?"
"ermm..yea but...."
you got the short end of the stick. take it to court, drag it out as long as possible, and then plead guilty and pay the fine. itll be on your record for a max of 1 1/2 years since its from date of offense, not conviction.

[goldn]

Originally Posted by jasonintoronto

fight all tickets

this.

[A.Kon]

Originally Posted by alexmadison

Have any of you guys tried that GPS program that alerts you to speed traps. looks interesting. I was thinking of trying out phantom alert. anyone with personal experience in here?

http://phantomalert-review.blogspot.com/

I've heard of this but not sure how useful it is.
I mean if you just know where the usual speed traps are you should be fine. There's plenty of threads everywhere on this - I think even Red Flag Deals has such a thread.


The real trouble is knowing where the random speed traps are set up - that you just have to be alert, and rely on other drivers - I don't think the GPS program will tell you those.

I really really wish oncoming drivers would high beam when they see the speed trap. Most people in Toronto seem to be too ignorant or too lazy to simply flash their high beams. I do it all the time.

The other trick I use - I watch out for several cars ahead of you all putting on brake lights - you could be cruising at 80 in a 50 but if you see a couple of cars ahead suddenly hit the brakes (even if they're not in your lane), I'm always cautious because I've found it's likely they hit the brakes because they see a cop - sometimes is bad drivers or traffic problem but sometimes it is a cop holding a radar gun.

Keeping alert of other drivers has saved me from tickets a few times!

[Bladerunner]

Has there been any update to this? Did you have your first court date yet?

[victor328]

I went to the court offices on Eglinton and told them that I'm going to fight it. They told me I should get a letter in about 6 months informing me of when my court date is.

[veightkiller]

i always fight my tickets and get discounts and no points.

[victor328]

Well today I finally went to court for the speeding ticket. After walking into the court room, each person speaks to the prosecutor, he asked me if I wanted to plead guilty to a lesser charge which in my case was 15km over, no points, and a 35 dollar fine, he also told me that the cop was present. Before hand I talked to a few people in the line up and we all had the same cop give us the ticket ! Anyways I said I would plead guilty to the lesser charge, then the judge comes in and each person is asked if they are guilty to the lesser charge, I answered "yes" and so did everyone else. The one thing that bothered me was that I never saw the cop ! I wonder if the prosecutor can say "the cop is present" so that everyone will plead guilty even though he isn't there ?? The only thing I can think of is that the cop is outside the courtroom and if someone decides to fight the ticket then he comes in, not sure ...

[DnA Diesel]

On the court day, you can look at the docket sheet just outside the courtroom. It lists the officers attending on behalf of the crown and the names of the defendants related to each attending officer. If there is a fairly large group of defendants for a specific officer you can rest assured that he/she is there.

If on the other hand, there is only one or perhaps two defendants for a given officer, it is likely that the defendants or a representative worked something with the court officer prior to the court date, and the officer is likely not there (i.e. something worked out, such that the PC will not be providing evidence on behalf of the Crown).

Regards

[TeutonicDan]

That sucks but hey good run 22 years..wow. That beats my 7 clear years, actually as of today. While casually going to get a haircut 20 seconds from my home in my Maxima (I painted the garage door and it wasn't dry yet so my baby was trapped) A pulled me over for doing 50km in a 40km zone...yeah, felt great. btw, here's some things I read recently that may help:

"Always always always fight traffic tickets. The more people that fight their tickets the more courts get tied up, the bigger the chance your constitutional right to a speedy trial will be violated and you'll get off.

One thing many people don't know, your insurance rates are not based on how many points you have your insurance rates are based on CONVICTIONS.

So many people just pay the ticket without considering the consequences this could have on their driving abstract.

It's ridiculously easy to fight tickets in Toronto (not sure about Halton Region). Delays are regularly longer than 10 months ( as I mentioned earlier you can fight the ticket based on your constitutional right to a speedy trial being violated if 10+ mths have passed), and it's usually a 50/50 toss up if the cop will show anyways (if they don't know the case gets thrown out).

If the cop is there I still suggest not taking a plea bargain unless you know beyond a shadow of a doubt you are going to be found guilty.

Read this site here: http://www.ticketcombat.com/ "

It's a re-post from a discussion board that I found of value. I'm fighting mine even though it is 0 demerit points. Good luck brother.

[TeutonicDan]

Here's the rest of that post as well - "It will teach you everything you need to know about fighting tickets in Ontario. For instance did you know that in Toronto and MIssissauga, Brampton and certain other regions all signs have to be bilingual? And if they are not you can fight any ticket you have saying the signs aren't valid! And NONE of the signs in these areas are bilingual. =)

Worst case scenerio and you do get found guilty you've pushed back the date you have to pay the fine (and increases in your insurance premiums) by anywhere from 6 - 12 months. The prosecution will almost always try to plea bargain with you so if you know you are going to be found guilty anyways and the cop shows up, take the deal (which usually results in less demerit points or none, plus a lowered fine!)

I realize all this may sound kind of callous however I personally feel a large percentage of the HWT is nothing more than a big cash grab on the part of the citie(s) and province. Yes there are idiots out there driving like maniacs, but in general it's the poor guy doing 10 over that gets nabbed by a cop trying to meet his quota before the end of the month.

And all that aside as a Canadian it's your right to have "your day" in court. Until you have been found guilty by a judge in a court of law, you are INNOCENT."

[Belarus]

Originally Posted by ims

Hold on hold on..... first offense??? if that was your first offense you shouldnt have gotten a ticket... should have gotten traffic caution (warning) - definately take it to court they "quash" that right away given its ur first offense.