Traffic Tickets (nf)

[Gerritt]

Well Last week I got a phone call from my sons daycare.. Mr. Aalbers your son is sick and needs to get to a doctor.. I was in Greensville at the time and wasnt in my vehicle... I left mine at the shop and carpooled...

 

Well minutes seemed like hours until we left about 20 minutes later...

 

Needless to say I got in my truck and all I wanted to do was get to my sick boy..Normally my wife would deal with such things and deals with the lady at the daycare on a daily basis... they NEVER call me... but they could not reach my wife as she was on a Tour in Fort Erie that was work related

 

NEEDLESS to say I was freaking out!!! most of you know the situation about me losing my first son Terry at the age of 2..

 

anyways

 

I got nailed by an officer doing 81 in a 50.. I tried to explain to the officer as to why I was speeding.... he didnt care to listen

 

Sooo here I sit with a 230.00+ fine and am facing 4 demerit points.

 

I have called XCopper and they want 400.00 to fight it... and they say they can get rid of the demerit points... sounds great... but when I recieved their documents there is no guarantee saying I will not loose any points. and I might still have to pay the fine...albeit it might be reduced...

 

another scenerio...

 

I plead guilty with an explaination stating the above as my reasoning for being a moron ...

 

By going the XCopper route I feel a bit like OJ paying to get off a charge when I am obviously guilty..... but at the same time I dont want my insurance to go up...

 

 

Anyone have any experiance with XCoppers?

 

PS... I am 31 and this is my first Speeding ticket if it helps any..

 

I could use any advice..

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Gerritt.

[Greencoachdog]

save the lawyer money and plead guilty with an explanation, you are guilty and you do have an explanation. I'd also take the medical papers from your sons treatment with you.

[irishfield]

At least you weren't fishin with 8 rods Gerrit ! LOL

 

I thought Xcoppers was "we win or it's free"! Guess what they don't tell you is what they really charge.

 

I have no experience with them or pleading. The only charge I've had in 28 years is failing to show "device" (Safetly sticker) for my 34' flat bed trailer and pull vehicle. That one somehow was "lost" when filing at the court house.

[Corey]

Don't ever plead guilty with an explaination, pleading guilty with or without an explaination is still pleading guilty.

 

Read through this... I know it's long and drawn out, but for an hours worth of reading... it could save you a ton in the long run. Take it to trial, and pull all the strings out.

 

http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum/showthread.php?t=1039

 

cd.

[fishing n autograph]

Just call the number on the back of the ticket and have a meeting with the crown and plead down the ticket. Trust me the crown will help you. They knocked my 139 in a 90 to 119 in a 90. You'll probably have it knocked down to 60 in a 50 and no demerit points.

[Gerritt]

fishnautographs, thanks.. what happens if they dont lower the ticket??Am I still pleading Guilty with an explanation?? can I still go the XCoppers route if this does not work?

 

Gerritt.

Edited December 1, 2006 by Gerritt

[mason05]

Gerritt,

I'd do what fishinautographs says and if that fails defend yourself in court. Half the time the cozzer that caught you won't even show up for the court date and then you have a good chance of getting off scot free.

 

Corn Nug

[Joey]

Ya, what Corn Nug said.

 

My boss averages a speeding ticket a month. He always shows up at court and the cop doesn't and he gets off scott free (I did not say I condone his actions!!!).

 

Just an FYI Gerritt, good luck.

 

Joey

[fishindevil]

hi gerrit,been there done that,i took a guys advice and did what you are talking about and pleaded guilty with an explanation and they said that they would reduce the fine amount but the demerit points will still stand regardless.so think twice before you do that if you dont want your insurance to go up.......

[barrystrs]

I chose to fight the ticket. When I went to set the trial date they offered to reduce the ticket to minimum,and remove all points, it was 3. That was good enough for me, I was happy. But it is still a speeding ticket on your record. There was a paralegal there from Xcopper, he followed the same procedure for his client as I did, but I didn't pay $400. It only took about 2hrs.

[lew]

Here's my spin on this, and Gerritt, it's not directed at you specifically, but just to everyone in general who wants to break the rules, then complain when they get caught and whine cause the copper gave them a ticket.

 

We all see it everyday, at least I do here in the Smoke, guys flying down the hiway doing 160 and forcing everybody else outta their way, roaring thru city streets at 90, running red lights and stop signs, illegal turns, cutting everybody off and just plain being a pain in the butt and a danger to me and my family.

 

Personally, I luv nothing more than seeing the coppers pull these jerks over.

 

I spent 30 odd years cutting dead and dying bodies from mangled cars and have seen waaaaaay too much crap to have any sympathy for those who figure the hiways and city streets are their own personal racetracks.

 

If anybody wants to break the rules and endanger everyone else on the road, don't come crying when you get nailed and hafta dig deep into your pockets to pay for it. Everybody always slags the coppers and claim their being picked on, or the cop was a jerk for giving me a ticket.

 

Maybe you should ask the copper for a few of his own horror stories caused by some of the jerks he wasn't able to stop before they killed the guy down the hiway a couple miles.

 

I'm not talkin about the guy doing 10k over the limit, but the ones that act like morons.

 

Funny thing too, it's usually the young punkers with the least amout of experience that always think their the best drivers and can do anything they want with no bad consequenses.

 

We've got quite a few coppers, firemen and medics on this board, and I can guarantee, everyone of them will tell you the same thing.

 

Next time anybody gets a speeding ticket, maybe think about it before you start complaining about it and wondering how you can get out from under it. If you want to break the rules, fine, just be prepared to pay the piper

 

I had to cancel my weekend musky trip because of the high winds and I'm in a foul mood this morning, so there's my rant to blow off some steam........have a nice weekend everybody.

 

BTW Gerritt, I hope the little guy is feeling better.

[pikehunter]

Take FishnNAutographs advise.

 

I went through a situation with a charge about 10 years ago. Not a speeding ticket as yours but a different charge that was bogus. The cop wanted to charge me with something so she dug down deep and came up with one.

 

I went to one of the para legal outfits in Burlington and was told that it was not the right charge. They would fight it at a cost of $350. Well I couldn't see paying the 350 bucks for a $115 ticket but it was the points that I wanted to save.

 

I went to the library and looked up the highway traffic act with the info pertaining to my charge. I went before the prosecutting attorny. She didn't even let me get a word in. Didn't even look at my photo copied laws. She kept on talking and then said that since I had a perect driving record she was going to the judge/ Jp or whatever he was and have the charge withdrawn. That was it, all said and done. The fine was dropped and more importantly my points were also saved.

 

If the para legal firm's fee was more reasonable then I would have used them. But I did it on my own and I'm still proud of the fact I did.

 

Good luck with this. Saving your points is the main goal here, not the monetary fine.

[hawkeye]

I used X a few years ago for my wife. She could have gone to court or the crown but English is not her first language and sometimes she gets rattled.

 

Anyway two things

it pays to go to court often times the cop won't show or the case gets drawn out so long that they toss the charge

 

it's not the points that matter to the insurance companies it's the conviction, BUT they have to check your driving record to find it, it's not an automatic notification

[Fisherman]

Here's my spin on this, and Gerritt, it's not directed at you specifically, but just to everyone in general who wants to break the rules, then complain when they get caught and whine cause the copper gave them a ticket.

 

We all see it everyday, at least I do here in the Smoke, guys flying down the hiway doing 160 and forcing everybody else outta their way, roaring thru city streets at 90, running red lights and stop signs, illegal turns, cutting everybody off and just plain being a pain in the butt and a danger to me and my family.

 

Personally, I luv nothing more than seeing the coppers pull these jerks over.

 

I spent 30 odd years cutting dead and dying bodies from mangled cars and have seen waaaaaay too much crap to have any sympathy for those who figure the hiways and city streets are their own personal racetracks.

 

If anybody wants to break the rules and endanger everyone else on the road, don't come crying when you get nailed and hafta dig deep into your pockets to pay for it. Everybody always slags the coppers and claim their being picked on, or the cop was a jerk for giving me a ticket.

 

Maybe you should ask the copper for a few of his own horror stories caused by some of the jerks he wasn't able to stop before they killed the guy down the hiway a couple miles.

 

I'm not talkin about the guy doing 10k over the limit, but the ones that act like morons.

 

Funny thing too, it's usually the young punkers with the least amout of experience that always think their the best drivers and can do anything they want with no bad consequenses.

 

We've got quite a few coppers, firemen and medics on this board, and I can guarantee, everyone of them will tell you the same thing.

 

Next time anybody gets a speeding ticket, maybe think about it before you start complaining about it and wondering how you can get out from under it. If you want to break the rules, fine, just be prepared to pay the piper

 

I had to cancel my weekend musky trip because of the high winds and I'm in a foul mood this morning, so there's my rant to blow off some steam........have a nice weekend everybody.

 

BTW Gerritt, I hope the little guy is feeling better.

Number one: Amen Lew, extremely well said,

Number two: Not picking on anyone, however the next time anyone is doing breakneck speed by recklessly rushing to the scene, think of how many other people they have put at risk trying to save another. Imagine hitting someone at more than one and a half times the speed limit, or "T" boning someone, taking out a couple of other people and destroying someone elses family. Like Lew said, "pay the fine and get on with it" Or maybe you want some graphic details of the last one I got to first, simply because of speed.

Edited December 2, 2006 by Fisherman

[medic]

Gerritt,

 

Just a little advice, go to court ! My friends all wear blue, and any time they have to go to court for a speeding ticket they will encourage you to talk to the crown to have it lowered so they dont have to go through the lengthy procedure of testifying . The crown will usually drop the points and fine, in agreement with the officier if the officier actully shows to the court day ! Hope this helps!!

 

Medic

[drufis]

Gerrit

 

Quickly I like you went through this a month ago, never had a ticket, I received one in a pretty good radar trap in Toronto (you would not believe how many cars were pulled over and being pulled over) the cop told me to go to court and fight it and they would probably knock the points off.

 

1) Go to the address on the ticket and request a first meeting with the prosecutor, she will listen to your story, bring something from the daycare and doctor about where you were going.

 

2) the prosecutor will then make a reccomendation, they will either do nothing for you or will knock down the speed you will travelling to no points and just a fine or something like that)

 

3) then it is up to you to either take what they offer or you can then request a trial in front of the Judge. You will then have to go back at a later date to go in front of the judge and the cop if he shows.

 

Go the first meeting route first you have nothing to lose, they normally won't throw the ticket out but will reduce it to something you can live with.

 

Note - losing points is important but now your insurance can go up for just getting a ticket. I had a perfect record and that ticket cost me $300 dollars for just getting a ticket which after all was said and done go knocked down to doing 10 over an no points but because I did get a ticket I no longer qualify for the best rate. I hate the whole insurance industry no tickets or accidents in 17 years of driving and I no longer qualify because I got one ticket? But that's a rant for another day.

[OhioFisherman]

Sorry Gerritt, I hope your son is OK!

[JerseyDog]

NEVER PLEASE GUILTY WITH AN EXPLANATION FOR ANY MOVING VIOLATION BECAUSE ONCE GUILTY, THEY CANNOT REDUCE THE POINTS, ONLY THE FINE.

 

ALWAYS PLEAD NOT GUILTY AND THEN DO THE DEAL WITH THE CROWN.

Edited December 4, 2006 by JerseyDog

[robin]

Yah what the grummppy fart said LOL... Cops just here way to many stories and if they beleaved everyone they would never give a ticket. So in defence to him he just didnt know if you were lying or telling the truth.. Goto court explain the situation and hope for the best. Good Luck

Robin

[Kirk]

Don't plead guilty with explanation, or have a pre-trial meeting with the Crown, set a trial date, hope for a no show from the cop or explain your circumstances to the cop if he attends court or the crown (basically the info in your initial post on this thread with respect to your children), your good driving record, your age and tell them your financial dependents.

 

That should either a) get the charge tossed out if the cop doesn't show up or get it reduced points and fine wise to something bearable.

 

If the cop is not there on the trial date, DO NOT agree to postponing the date, have it withdrawn.

 

[ Having said that, I also agree with Lew, being a new dad has made my gas foot a bit lighter, my philosophy is I won't be much good to my family killing myself in a wreck, or killing someone elses child or dad. AND, I'm not a doctor so seconds don't count for my arrival. If it were a true emergency, god forbid, they'd be dialing 911 for quick trained help, calling me means its something that 'eventually' needs to be done based on safe driving arrival times ]

[Vanselena]

This is my first post.

 

Not all tickets are justified.

 

My wife got a ticket for careless driving that I still don't think she should have been charged for.

 

She was driving when she felt faint. She tried to pull over but went unconscious befor she could stop. She hit another vehicle. I arrived and took her to the hospital immediatly, and after some tests found out her blood Oxygen level was very low.

 

I brought the hospital report to court and pleaded not guilty for her.

 

Bottom line is she was still charged with careless and with the accident her insurance went from $1600 a year to $4200 a year. She had no previous tickets for the past 10 years. After 3 years her insurance has finally started to go down.

 

So if factual medical proof doesn't help, I don't see how your reason for speed will either.

 

Matthew

[ehg]

As others have stated above set a trial date. You will get a trial date in the mail.

Usually it is 7 months to a year from occurence. The cop won't show up.

The fine will either be withdrawn or really slashed down.

I've done this a few times. Even argued my way out of a photo radar ticket by adamantly

insisting it wasn't me but other cars.

You have a solid honest reason for speeding and evenually you will pay little and not lose any points.

 

Good luck,

 

ehg

[ccmtcanada]

The trial thing doesn't always work. I was told by a cop who pulled me over to do that....as he said he never shows up in court. So I did that, and guess what? He showed up.

[solopaddler]

Wow, IMO if there ever was a case to justify speeding, yours is it. If I was in the same situation I'd have likely been clocked at a lot more than 81km....When it comes to the safety of your child, well that comes first and foremost as far as I'm concerned. Can't believe the cop wrote you a ticket, by all means fight it!

[douG]

Welcome to Vanselena. Great to have you on board here at OFC.