Debate: Pay the ticket or fight it???

I lived in Alberta for a number of years and racked up a ton of tickets before I left and just drove away and never hears a word. Now this was many years ago and I don't know what the reciprocals are between provinces are now but Id still be inclined to ignore it unless you intend to be in that province again.

Fight it...Similar thing happened to my friend (they put his license plate number on the ticket but someone else's name/address)...went to court and represented himself...case got thrown out.

JohnnyWishbone said:

Fight it...Similar thing happened to my friend (they put his license plate number on the ticket but someone else's name/address)...went to court and represented himself...case got thrown out.

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If it was out of province, throw it out. Only a few exceptions apply to out of province tickets.

This ticket however doesnt apply to any of the exceptions. There would be NO repercussions to you or anything against your license.

I am generally one to recommend you always fight a moving violation as they can affect your insurance premiums, regardless of demerit points.

However, if Out of Province, the cost to return to attend court is probably much higher than the rate increase (unless your license is already full of tickets less than 2 years old)

But I would not want to risk being held up in any way if I ever go back to that Province so I would simply pay the ticket.


Here is an interesting article on who shares what Traffic Ticket info with whom

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/glo...icket-will-go-on-your-record/article37037235/

SchlongConery said:

I am generally one to recommend you always fight a moving violation as they can affect your insurance premiums, regardless of demerit points.

However, if Out of Province, the cost to return to attend court is probably much higher than the rate increase (unless your license is already full of tickets less than 2 years old)

But I would not want to risk being held up in any way if I ever go back to that Province so I would simply pay the ticket.


Here is an interesting article on who shares what Traffic Ticket info with whom

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/glo...icket-will-go-on-your-record/article37037235/

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Exactly, good points. Plus you broke the law so pay for it. Eventuality this avoidance will catch up to you. Although I am a hypocrite because I don’t believe in C-36, I generally believe in supporting the law and system and taking responsibility for your actions but yes we all speed or commit traffic violations, I think if we are caught and agree that we broke them, should pay regardless of a formality or mistake during the process of issuing the ticket.

You do not have to appear personally, you can hire some one to represent you, like a para-legal. To get a ticket tossed, the errors are supposed to be significant enough that the person, the vehicle, or the location and time of the offence cannot be specified for certain. The Crown must prove all those details. Wrong province sounds like it qualifies, but I think another Jessica Rain at the same street address, different apartment, seems an unreasonable stretch.

Ask a para-legal here if you could safely ignore a ticket 'not to my vehicle' or get it dropped by mail.

Let me help you out further:https://www.theglobeandmail.com/glo...icket-will-go-on-your-record/article37037235/
https://www.ontario.ca/faq/what-happens-if-i-get-out-province-demerit-points

The speed you were driving (under 20 over) doesnt come with demerit points. Toss the ticket.

I've not had the issue come up often, but the one time I did I chose to pay the ticket, even though the fine was crazy, just to ensure it didn't bite me in the ass later on.

Mind you my circumstances were very different and I don't know if it would have ever caught up with me, I figured it was safer just to pay for it.

Now I'm curious though... Here's one for all you traffic law wizards out there. Ticketed for doing 150 in a posted 100, which was apparently an unposted 80 due to some oil that had been recently put down on the highway. Also apparently a no passing zone, and I got tagged passing a semi.

Total ticket to my Alberta license was 680 something, which I mailed to the Winnipeg court office.

Interesting thing is I was moving to Ontario, and I got my shiny new Ontario license about a week or so later. Never heard anything about it.

Should I have ignored it?

genosys said:

I've not had the issue come up often, but the one time I did I chose to pay the ticket, even though the fine was crazy, just to ensure it didn't bite me in the ass later on.

Mind you my circumstances were very different and I don't know if it would have ever caught up with me, I figured it was safer just to pay for it.

Now I'm curious though... Here's one for all you traffic law wizards out there. Ticketed for doing 150 in a posted 100, which was apparently an unposted 80 due to some oil that had been recently put down on the highway. Also apparently a no passing zone, and I got tagged passing a semi.

Total ticket to my Alberta license was 680 something, which I mailed to the Winnipeg court office.

Interesting thing is I was moving to Ontario, and I got my shiny new Ontario license about a week or so later. Never heard anything about it.

Should I have ignored it?

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Haha, it seems that in your situation, you were fucked no matter what! Good thing you paid.

I would pay it. Especially if it is just a ticket and not points.

By admission, you were in the wrong (we all are frequently, you just were unlucky and got caught). So from an ethical standpoint, you should.

From a personal standpoint - how much is your time worth to you? This will take at minimum half a day of waiting around day of, and months of just waiting for that date.

Personally, I don't like owing people, having loose ends, or not knowing where things stand. It's unlikely anything worse than having to pay it with a fine would come of it, but in my opinion, it's not a good practice to get yourself into.

Classy Angel said:

I would pay it. Especially if it is just a ticket and not points.

By admission, you were in the wrong (we all are frequently, you just were unlucky and got caught). So from an ethical standpoint, you should.

From a personal standpoint - how much is your time worth to you? This will take at minimum half a day of waiting around day of, and months of just waiting for that date.

Personally, I don't like owing people, having loose ends, or not knowing where things stand. It's unlikely anything worse than having to pay it with a fine would come of it, but in my opinion, it's not a good practice to get yourself into.

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:thumb: awesome response!

You actually left out the most important part; which province / state issued you the ticket?

Some provinces have reciprocal agreements so you WILL gain demerit points and you must pay the ticket
Others do not

Also not every province has same rules when it comes to tickets (minor issues won't get the ticket thrown out of court anywhere near as easily as we do here)

Plus cost to defend yourself usually costs far more than the ticket does


Oh and HAHAHAA
This coming after you keep preaching how much safer it is to exceed the limit by 10KM than drive at the speed limit

A buddy once had a ticket cancelled because he pointed out the officer spelled his name wrong. He made a wrong left turn and pleaded he made a mistake.The judge told him that doesn't excuse you. He then pointed out the spelling mistake. The officer replied that, he just made a mistake. My friend said,"so why does that excuse you? The judge agreed and threw out the ticket.

TeeJay said:

Oh and HAHAHAA
This coming after you keep preaching how much safer it is to exceed the limit by 10KM than drive at the speed limit

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LOL . That was funny . She loves to preach about her ideas but then it bites her in the ass . The law was broken . Pay the darn ticket and be done with it . Are you or YOUR friend that cheap that you can't pay that ticket .

Just think of the better public service that you will get if the government has more to spend . Remember the more money that a government has to spend the better service you will receive from them . LOL .

John Henry said:

Just think of the better public service that you will get if the government has more to spend . Remember the more money that a government has to spend the better service you will receive from them . LOL .

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It really depends if the officer was a luxury VIP ELITE Officer or an Agency officer. If it's the first type of officer, just pay whatever they ask for and don't be a cheapo but if it's the second one, MEH, just ignore it! They write so many tickets one or two not paid for who cares!

Robert Mugabe said:

A buddy once had a ticket cancelled because he pointed out the officer spelled his name wrong. He made a wrong left turn and pleaded he made a mistake.The judge told him that doesn't excuse you. He then pointed out the spelling mistake. The officer replied that, he just made a mistake. My friend said,"so why does that excuse you? The judge agreed and threw out the ticket.

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Your friend had an unusually sympathetic or amused judge. Remember the officer in court is acting as the witness. Typically if the officer can point to you in the courtroom and testify he saw you as the driver of the speeding vehicle, then the charge will be allowed to go forward. All the little details like wrong spelling, incomplete home address, wrong plate number, etc. won't be enough to establish reasonable doubt.

Classy Angel said:

I would pay it. Especially if it is just a ticket and not points.

By admission, you were in the wrong (we all are frequently, you just were unlucky and got caught). So from an ethical standpoint, you should.

From a personal standpoint - how much is your time worth to you? This will take at minimum half a day of waiting around day of, and months of just waiting for that date.

Personally, I don't like owing people, having loose ends, or not knowing where things stand. It's unlikely anything worse than having to pay it with a fine would come of it, but in my opinion, it's not a good practice to get yourself into.

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Different opinions here. My opinion, shared by many driving enthusiasts, is that speeding tickets are an unethical revenue tool that doesn't improve traffic safety. Therefore we have a moral obligation to fight every speeding ticket issued. :beguiled:

While one minor conviction doesn't increase your insurance rate, typically two or more will. Thus it's worth fighting every traffic ticket, just to keep your driving record cleaner and give you more of a buffer the next time you get pulled over for a more serious charge. Cops will sometimes go easier on you if you have a clean record. If it's a minor ticket, pay a paralegal to fight it to avoid taking time off work or traveling out of province. The paralegal will also be able to check ahead of time if any clerical mistakes had caused the ticket to be disassociated from your driver's license, which would be a lucky break for you.

I would not let an unpaid out-of-province ticket simmer, even if you know the records aren't shared. The next time you return there could lead to complications.

JaimeWolf said:

I would not let an unpaid out-of-province ticket simmer, even if you know the records aren't shared. The next time you return there could lead to complications.

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Totally depends on province
Some like ON are quite strict
Others like BC are laughable (not only can you get away with not paying ticket, they won't even do anything about it if they catch you a second time or at the US border crossing when they run your plates). Worst case scenario is they might hand the ticket over to a collection agency who will bug you for a couple of years.