Speeding Tickets, Beating a Speeding Ticket in Ontario
How to fight your speeding ticket
Have you received a speeding ticket, or Ontario traffic ticket? Are you automatically guilty of speeding? Should you just pay it? Do you have a defense to Speeding? How does a speeding ticket affect your insurance rates? What's the right thing to do?
Before paying any speeding ticket understand what the penalties for a speeding ticket in Ontario really are. Even a minor speeding ticket has more penalties than just the fine.
Each speeding ticket has four or more penalties that the police nor the prosecution will tell you about. These penalities can dramatically effect your right to drive and your insurance rates.
Call to fight your Ontario Traffic Tickets at 1-888-668-8946 or visit one of our offices of OTT Legal Services for an immediate consultation to fight your speeding ticket and avoid the penalties of a speeding ticket.
Speeding Ticket Facts:
- Every speeding ticket has a fine attached to it that is usually written at the bottom of the ticket.
- Most speeding tickets have demerit points attached to them.
- The Ministry of Transportation allows you to accumulate demerit points from speeding tickets, but upon reaching six, nine or fifteen demerit points, the Ministry can call you in for an interview, or immediately suspend your licence for 30 days to six months.
- For G1, G2 licence holders and probationary drivers, if you obtain six (6) or more demerit points you will be immediately liable to a thirty (30) day drivers licence suspension from the Ministry of Transportation.
- A speeding ticket for speeding more than 50km/h has 7 demerit points, a one year drivers licence suspension, and a two thousand dollar fine.
- Your insurance company assesses your insurance rates depending on what they perceive as their risk of having to pay a claim. With speeding tickets on your driving record, your insurance company can judge you accordingly, and increase your insurance rates, as they see fit. (see more below)
- Speeding tickets for speeding more than 50 km/h, as well as having 6 demerit points have a possible 30 day drivers licence suspension attached to them.
- A speeding ticket for speeding over 50km/h per hour will dramatically affect your insurance rates by thousands of dollars per year, and is considered a major insurance conviction.
- If caught speeding more than 50km/h the police may immediately seize the vehicle you are driving and suspend your drivers licence for seven days.
Demerit Points for Ontario Traffic Tickets
Speeding tickets have the following demerit points.
| SPEEDING RANGE | DEMERIT POINTS |
|---|---|
| 0 - 15 kilometers | 0 demerit points |
| 16 - 29 Kilometers over the limit | 3 demerit points |
| 30 - 49 kilometers over the limit | 4 demerit points |
| 50 kilometers over the limit | 6 demerit points and/or 30 day licence suspension |
| Stunt Driving - Speeding 50km/h or more | immediate 7 day suspension immediate 7 vehicle impound 6 demerit points one year licence suspension minimum fine $2000 maximum fine $10,000 jail up to 6 months 100% Insurance increase |
To save your demerit points from your speeding ticket give
OTT Legal a call at 1-888-668-8946
Costs of a Speeding Ticket
Insurance Implications for Speeding Tickets
The actual cost of a speeding ticket in Ontario can be much more than the fine on the ticket. Insurance companies are always looking to assess what is their risk for any insurance policy holder. Insurance companies are profit based businesses and are constantly looking at speeding tickets and any traffic ticket as an opportunity to increase the insurance premiums for the driver.
Although there may have been nothing dangerous about the speeding allegation, insurance companies look at all the risks factors involved for any driver to determine what rate they will charge for automobile insurance.
Insurance companies believe that if a person receives a speeding ticket the chance of that person being involved in an accident or making a claim is higher than those who don’t. The insurance companies therefore perceive those with speeding tickets and traffic tickets as a higher insurance risk, and increase the rates accordingly.
Speeding Tickets - Types of Speeding Tickets in Ontario
- Speeding tickets for speeds under 50 kilometres per hour will have a fine written on the ticket. These speeding tickets are called a "part one provincial offence notices" and are issued under part one of the Ontario Provincial Offences Act of Ontario.
- Speeding tickets for speeds over 50 kilometres per hour, the officer must issue a summons to appear in court before a Justice of the Peace. When the driver is summoned to appear before a Justice of the Peace the speeding ticket is called a "part three summons" or "form 104" issued under Part Three of Provincial Offences Act of Ontario.
Speeding tickets for speeding for under fifty kilometres per hour will have your information on it, the offence, the date, location and in most cases it will have two prices on it.
The first fine on the speeding ticket is called the "set fine" the other price is called the "total payable". The total payable is higher than the set fine and is the total cost of the speeding ticket. The Provincial Government adds a "victim fine surcharge" to every speeding ticket issued in Ontario. The money collected by this form of taxation is used to help the victims of criminal acts.
Speeding tickets with fines are only issued for speeding tickets up to forty nine (49) kilometres over the speed limit. After reaching a speed over 50 kilometres per hour the officer must issue a summons to the driver to commanding them to appear in court before a Justice of the Peace.
The officer is required to issue the summons because the speed recorded was so high that there is not an "out of court settlement" or "set fine".
The summons commands the driver to appear before a Justice of the Peace to answer to the charge of speeding.
Any speeding ticket issued by a Police Officer has to be properly written
The legal term is that the ticket has to be “proper on its face” meaning no “fatal errors”. Proper on its face means that the speeding ticket is correctly written by the officer, without any fatal errors that are not fixable or excusable by the courts.
Under the Ontario Provincial Offences Act minor mistakes on speeding tickets can be corrected at court by the prosecution, but fatal errors cannot. For example, there maybe a mistake in the spelling of your name, year of the car is wrong or the time is wrong.
These minor mistakes can be corrected on the trial date by the Justice of the Peace or prosecutor and will not get the speeding ticket canceled.
Fatal errors on a speeding ticket are mistakes that will get the ticket cancelled because they are not fixable or amendable by the prosecution.
A mistake like the officer not putting his name on the speeding ticket, or the wrong day or month are considered “Fatal Errors” and upon application by the defendant or his agent the Justice of the Peace may “quash” or cancel the traffic ticket.
If the Speeding Ticket has a fatal error a "Motion to Quash the Certificate" has to be presented properly to the Justice of the Peace by way of application or motion to the court.
Motions to the court have to be made out properly. The motion has to be presented to the Justice of the Peace detailing why the speeding ticket is improper and explaining the fatal error. Only then would the Justice of the Peace consider an application to cancel or "quash" a traffic ticket or speeding ticket.
Unless the defendant or his agent can present and argue the motion properly to the court a fatal error on any traffic ticket may not be considered.
This is why traffic court representation needs to be done by a qualified person such as the former police officers and qualified agents of Ontario Traffic Tickets.
Although a speeding ticket may have a fatal mistake on it. It is crucial to know when to make a motion to quash, when and when not to file the ticket, and whether or not to "atourn" to the jurisdiction.
If you do not understand what meant by motions, filing dates, set fines, and issues such as jurisdiction then you need help to win your ticket. There are at least ten items that have to be on the face of the speeding ticket for it to be proper before the court. If you don't know them how can you win the ticket in court?
You should always seek competent representation from the former traffic officers and agents of Ontario Traffic Tickets and OTT Legal Services. We know all the mistakes for a speeding ticket otherwise you risk being convicted where your case could of been won.
Ontario Traffic Tickets/OTT Legal will give you free advice right over the phone at 1-888-668-8946. As former traffic cops and licenced court agents with the Law Society of Upper Canada, our agents have seen it all, written the tickets and been to court thousands of times on speeding tickets just like yours.
We can tell you what the implications of any speeding ticket are. What are the hidden costs of saying you're guilty, what are the insurance implications. Do you have a defense to the charge that will win your ticket, or is it an explanation that will just get the fine reduced? Are there any technical errors, mistakes, or fatal errors that will get your ticket dropped in court?
Insurance rates have been known to increase 100 to 200 Percent from Traffic Tickets!
Insurance companies are now accessing your driving record to increase your insurance rates. Even minor convictions will be placed on your driving record regardless of demerit points or not, to be used against you. You must fight every speeding ticket to keep your insurance rates low.
Usually you do not have to appear in court; we will appear for you.
Insurance companies look at convictions, not just what your tickets are to increase your rates. For example although one minor speeding ticket for traveling 10 or 20 over the limit probably wouldn’t increase your rates, having a minor ticket for not having your insurance card would be considered a second conviction which could send your rates up.
If you get involved in an accident with any of these minor convictions, or a speeding ticket on your record, expect your rates to at least double.
You must always keep your driving record as clear as possible, if only for the insurance implications. Insurance rates have been known to soar from $1000 to $10,000+ as a result of Traffic Tickets!
Can you defend yourself? Maybe, but with the serious implications that can result from a speeding ticket it is dangerous to do so. Your insurance rates and your right to drive (licence suspension) could be in jeopardy. You must call an expert to get the best possible chance to win your case!
Ontario Traffic Tickets/OTT Legal gives free phone consultations.
Consider the following if you defend yourself:
- What will a day in traffic court cost you?
- Can you afford to take a day off work?
- What if you make a mistake?
- Do you know what the essential elements are that the police and prosecution have to prove for a speeding ticket?
- Do you know how to make an objection to a crown motion?
- Do you know how to check the filing date, the service box, or the set fine?
- Do you have a defense to speeding, or is it an explanation?
- Do you know how to make a legal motion to the court to get your ticket canceled?
Just going before the judge and telling your side of the story may not be enough. An explanation is not a defense to a speeding ticket.
With the qualified agents of Ontario Traffic Tickets representing you, you’ll feel confident that you have the best representation in court on your behalf. After being in court thousands of times as police officers and as qualified court agents, we know the right questions to ask to win your case.
For more information about speeding tickets look at Speeding Tickets, fighting a speeding ticket in Ontario www.OntarioSpeeding.com
Video Narrative
Speeding tickets have more penalties that just a fine.
Any accumulation of speeding tickets can dramatically affect your insurance rates, and can increase your premiums thousands of dollars per year.
Most Speeding tickets can have demerit points, and for some speeding tickets your licence can be suspended for thirty days to one year.
Before you pay or fight any speeding ticket, call OTT Legal Services to find out all the facts. We have the experience and knowledge to best advise you, and defend you in traffic court.
Trials for speeding tickets are won on legal technicalities, and to successfully fight a speeding ticket you need to have knowledge and experience on your side. Just going to court and explaining why you were speeding wont get your ticket canceled.
When you call or visit our offices, you’ll speak to licensed paralegals and former traffic officers like Chris Conway a former traffic police officer with the Toronto Police Service and the Ontario Provincial Police.
Having written the tickets and appeared in court thousands of times, we have the experience to fight your ticket.
Protect your insurance rates, demerit points and your right to drive. Why risk losing, call us to discuss you speeding ticket.
We will provide your offence with winning defense.
Call us now toll free throughout Ontario at 1-888-668-8946 to
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