Violations Involving Stop Signs

The fine attached to a stop sign ticket is not the only penalty for the offence. A stop sign ticket has four different penalties

• Three demerit points
• A fine of one hundred and ten dollars ($110.00)
• A conviction registered on your driving record for three years
• Possible insurance increases

Offences are not registered with the Ministry of Transportation until the ticket is either paid or a conviction has been registered by the court. Insurance companies are not made aware of a driving offence until the conviction has been sent to the Ministry of Transportation by the court registering the conviction.

Therefore if you have applied for court date and are awaiting trial the Ministry of Transport and your insurance company is not made aware of the offence.

A conviction for not coming to a full and complete stop at a stop sign stays on a driving record for three years from the date of the offence. A rolling stop at an intersection is considered a violation. The law requires that at a Stop Sign a driver must come to a “full and complete stop”. There is no time limitation put on how long the stop must be only that it must be full and complete.

Like any traffic ticket the Police and Prosecutor have to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt to the Justice of the Peace before a conviction can be entered, and means that the Justice of the Peace must be one hundred percent certain the motorist committed the offence.

The police are required, therefore, to prove all the essential elements of the charge described in section 136 of the Ontario Highway Traffic Act. If the prosecution is not able to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt the Justice of the Peace should dismiss the charge.

At trial the police officer will have a government appointed prosecutor to assist them as counsel. It is equally important that the defendant to be well represented too or they risk being convicted and receiving the four penalties described above.

The prosecutor is a trained professional who represents the interests of the municipality, their job it is to get a conviction against the motorist. Most Prosecutors are extremely fair individuals however they are not there to help you.

For most stop signs tickets the prosecutor will want to have a trial. If you do not know how to run a trial, make legal arguments, or have not appeared in traffic court before you need the professional qualified assistance of Ontario Traffic Tickets.