Should You Fight a Speeding Ticket?
Question: Is it worth it to fight my speeding ticket in court?
In 2008, Justice Rick Libman stated that the Provincial Offences court is the only court that most people will ever see.
The most frequently issued type of Provincial Offence is, of course, Speeding.
In Ontario, in 2016, approximately 1.6 million provincial offences were charged. Of those, 1.3 million were traffic tickets. Of those, just under half (550,931) were speeding tickets.
Source: http://www.ontariocourts.ca/ocj/files/stats/poa/2016/2016-POA-Statute.pdf
Twenty thousand speeding tickets were withdrawn, while another 4,000 went to trial. What this means is that most people just plead guilty or pay the fine.
Why You Shouldn’t Pay
Most people think that if they are guilty they should just pay the fine. Even those who don’t believe they are guilty often pay the fine.
Remember, if you pay the fine, this amounts to pleading guilty. And if you plead guilty, there is a 100% chance of getting this on your driver’s record.
Entries on your driver’s record stay on the abstract forever. Granted, the points only last from two years from the date of the offence and generally (we cannot guarantee how every insurance company operates) insurance companies will only consider a minor speeding ticket for three years from the date of the conviction.
There are numerous ways that you can fight your speeding ticket.
- Challenge the qualifications of the officer
- Challenge the testing of the officer of the radar or laser
- Challenge the manner of use of the radar or laser
- Raise a doubt over the ID of the right vehicle
- Argue necessity
- Adduce evidence to the contrary
- Raise tactical or procedural issues
Keep in mind that there are also aircraft-measured speeding tickets, speedometer cases, and estimation cases. There are specific defences for those kinds of cases.
Getting proper disclosure is therefore essential.
To discuss this matter in depth, you should call us for a free consultation.
David Anber
David Anber has been a trailblazing legal practitioner since 2006. His early entry into law practice during his studies marked the beginning of a distinguished career. As a member of both Ontario and Quebec’s bar associations, David excels in defending traffic and criminal cases across both provinces. David contributes to legal discourse through articles for the Defence Counsel Association of Ottawa and the Criminal Lawyer’s Association of Ontario.