Got the first ticket ever.....please help

[gentle_lover]

I got my first tickets ever in 4 years driving. Sucks!!! I got 2 of them at the same time. One is for driving 75 km/hour in 50 km/hour zone. The other one is for not having a valid insurance(it's expired). In 4 yrs I have never ever gotten a ticket in my life, even a parking ticket. People say that I should go to edward st and bring my driver abstract and try to argue my case. They said they might give me a break because I have a clean driving record. Anyone have a thought on this matter? I'm not sure what to do, since I have never experienced something like this before. Do I need a lawyer? If I do, what are my chances?

 

[Keebler Elf]

Call Points or one of those ex-copper agencies. They'll give you a free consultation and tell you what your odds are.

 

[gentle_lover]

Call Points or one of those ex-copper agencies. They'll give you a free consultation and tell you what your odds are.

Do you have the number? Or websites maybe? I know that some of these agencies do not help you at all. Some of them are just interested with your money. Any references?

 

[The Bandit]

NOT having a valid insurance? Were you trying to get away with it because it's too expensive?

I believe it's a $5,000 fine. A lawyer would cost you less than that, if he gets you a break.

 

[Never Compromised]

No insurance? you are toasted. Better hustle and get some before that hits your record and you get a huge increase in your insurance premium.

As for the 75 in a 50, don't bother with X-Copper. Plead not guilty and see if the crown will drop the speed to 65 in exchange for a guilty plea. You can do that yourself.

 

[stugotsms]

Well if you do have insurance but not an upto date slip, you should be OK. If you have no insurance at all, you have a hard time getting out of that one. Pretty serious. As for the speeding, did the cop have radar? Did he show it to you? If the cop did would be hard to get out of that. Places like points will take your money but will only promise success if they know for sure they can get you off, if not, you will pay for nothing. To me not worth the money.
I would take it to court and hope he/she does not show up.
Stu

 

[gentle_lover]

The speeding ticket is for $119 and the ticket for not having a valid insurance is $65.

I just had a problem with my broker and it got all messed up and I didnt have time to renew it with the holidays and all.

Anybody?? What do you guys think about my chances? What should I do?

 

[The Bandit]

I just had a problem with my broker and it got all messed up and I didnt have time to renew it with the holidays and all.

When did it expire?

 

[gentle_lover]

Well if you do have insurance but not an upto date slip, you should be OK. If you have no insurance at all, you have a hard time getting out of that one. Pretty serious. As for the speeding, did the cop have radar? Did he show it to you? If the cop did would be hard to get out of that. Places like points will take your money but will only promise success if they know for sure they can get you off, if not, you will pay for nothing. To me not worth the money.
I would take it to court and hope he/she does not show up.
Stu

I had my insurance and it was expired on December 27, 2007. I got the ticket on December 30,2007. Do you think I will be okay? How many points will I loose for the speeding?

 

[The Bandit]

I had my insurance and it was expired on December 27, 2007. I got the ticket on December 30,2007. Do you think I will be okay? How many points will I loose for the speeding?

I believe 3 points.

 

[gentle_lover]

No insurance? you are toasted. Better hustle and get some before that hits your record and you get a huge increase in your insurance premium.

As for the 75 in a 50, don't bother with X-Copper. Plead not guilty and see if the crown will drop the speed to 65 in exchange for a guilty plea. You can do that yourself.

What do you mean by "before it hits my record"? Is there a somekind of period of time I should get my insurance renew before it hits my record or something? Please explain futher.

What is the number for x-copper?

 

[gentle_lover]

I believe 3 points.

Is that a lot of points? How much increase I have to expect on my premium monthly?

Is this x-copper guy good?? No pay if no success?

 

[LordLoki]

Is that a lot of points? How much increase I have to expect on my premium monthly?

Is this x-copper guy good?? No pay if no success?[/QUOTE

Bottom line:

1) Road warier was nice to you at $65 probably because it was only 3 days. If you go to court they may decided you are an ass and charge you the full fine for driving without insurance.

2) You said you were charged at 75 in a 50. Did the officer drop it from say 85? If he did and it goes to court you risk having it set at what the radar gun said.

X-copper etc are actually fairly successful for innocent people. They might even get you off if the road warier did a procedural error. But with 2 charges that are not related?

Did you speed? Did you have valid insurance? You should always fight if you are innocent. If you are not innocent why should the courts help you?

Re road warier not showing up, becoming very unlikely if it was Metro there is lots of pressure on them to be there.

So if you want real advice go see a lawyer. If you take free advice from friends or here assume it is well worth the price.

 

[trisket]

Don't pay for legal help, it's only worth it if you get nailed for something more serious. Your insurance premium won't go up for a first time speeding offense.
Is it worth your time to go to court? Go and plead not guilty (even if you are, it's up to them to make their case).
If it's not worth taking time off, just pay the fine.

 

[xarir]

In this thread it was recommended that I call RedLine Legal Services. I did and so far things are OK. X-Copper will try to plead things down for you, but I`ve learned that pleading guilty for the speeding, or even getting it knocked down by X-Copper still leads to a guilty plea being attached to your record for 3 years.

RedLine will do everything they can to erase the charge entirely so nothing shows on your record. I`m not sure what can be done for the no insurance thing, but RedLine could probably help you with the speeding portion of the charge.

http://www.charged.ca/

 

[hunter001]

Is there a some kind of period of time I should get my insurance renew before it hits my record or something? Please explain futher.

What is the number for x-copper?

Get your insurance renewed before you drive again and it should not be a problem.

It is easier to get insurance with less convictions on your record. The insurance company take a dim view of people that let policies lapse as well.

Your story is still kind of weird. Unless you canceled your policy the Insurance company should have sent you an automatic renewal and all you have to is pay it. If your broker canceled your policy and left you no insurance you better find another broker. If you were just driving with a expired insurance card that isn't a big deal. You can go to court with the valid card and will likely be thrown out.

Good luck.

 

[gentle_lover]

Is that a lot of points? How much increase I have to expect on my premium monthly?

Is this x-copper guy good?? No pay if no success?[/QUOTE

Bottom line:

1) Road warier was nice to you at $65 probably because it was only 3 days. If you go to court they may decided you are an ass and charge you the full fine for driving without insurance.

2) You said you were charged at 75 in a 50. Did the officer drop it from say 85? If he did and it goes to court you risk having it set at what the radar gun said.

X-copper etc are actually fairly successful for innocent people. They might even get you off if the road warier did a procedural error. But with 2 charges that are not related?

Did you speed? Did you have valid insurance? You should always fight if you are innocent. If you are not innocent why should the courts help you?

Re road warier not showing up, becoming very unlikely if it was Metro there is lots of pressure on them to be there.

So if you want real advice go see a lawyer. If you take free advice from friends or here assume it is well worth the price.

The thing is I wasn't paying attention to my speedo at the time. I'm not sure if it was 74k/h or less, but i was speeding over the limit.

I dont think he dropped it from 85 to 74. He said I was drinving 74k/h in 50k/h zone, and that is what he put on the ticket.

So, if I plead guilty with an explanation there may be a chance that they will reduce the fine for my speeding ticket? Is that mean that there is also a chance they may increase the insurance ticket for a max fine ?

Is that true that the convictions will stay on my record for 3 yrs? or is it 5 yrs?

 

[gentle_lover]

Get your insurance renewed before you drive again and it should not be a problem.

It is easier to get insurance with less convictions on your record. The insurance company take a dim view of people that let policies lapse as well.

Your story is still kind of weird. Unless you canceled your policy the Insurance company should have sent you an automatic renewal and all you have to is pay it. If your broker canceled your policy and left you no insurance you better find another broker. If you were just driving with a expired insurance card that isn't a big deal. You can go to court with the valid card and will likely be thrown out.

Good luck.

I did cancelled the policy in December. I and my broker had a problem which resulting me not trusting her anymore. With the holidays and all. I havent had time to find a new broker. Like I said, my policy expired on the 27th of Dec and I got the ticket on the 30th. I know, i'm still at fault.

Are you saying that after I got my new insurance card with a new company and bring it to edward st say sometime this week, they will likely throw out the charge?

 

[hunter001]

Is that true that the convictions will stay on my record for 3 yrs? or is it 5 yrs?

Yes. You should really google the point system in Ontario and read it.

 

[hunter001]

I did cancelled the policy in December. I and my broker had a problem which resulting me not trusting her anymore. With the holidays and all. I havent had time to find a new broker. Like I said, my policy expired on the 27th of Dec and I got the ticket on the 30th. I know, i'm still at fault.

For future reference you don't have to cancel you insurance policy because you don't like your broker. Just go to another broker. Never cancel a policy until you have another one. Your insurance contract is with the Insurance company not the broker. If you have a problem with the broker call the Insurance company and they could refer you to another broker.

Are you saying that after I got my new insurance card with a new company and bring it to edward st say sometime this week, they will likely throw out the charge?

No your fucked in that case. You knew you canceled your policy and were driving without insurance.