"Interview" due to demerit points

[blopar]

Received a note from the Ministry.

I am to have an "interview" with them to "show cause" why my licence shouldn't be suspended.

2 minor (in my mind) infractions in the last year. Nothing previous in decades of driving.

Anyone else ever have to go through this?

 

[Stoo]

Don't you need to rack up 9 points before they request your company? Me thinks your definition of "minor" might not be shared by others on the road!

 

[bestillmehard]

I believe it is 9 points before an interview. I went through one years ago.
After working out of town for 8 years I racked up quite a few speeding tickets. I had to go and tell them why they shouldnt take my lisense. It was decided I couldnt take public transit to work so I was granted the privilege of continuing to drive.
It straightened me right out.

 

[Moraff]

Received a note from the Ministry.

I am to have an "interview" with them to "show cause" why my licence shouldn't be suspended.

2 minor (in my mind) infractions in the last year. Nothing previous in decades of driving.

Anyone else ever have to go through this?

How many points are we talking? It's irrelevant whether you consider the infractions minor if the cops were of a different opinion.

Looking at the MTO website you must have gotten up to the 9 point mark to have received your invitation to the interview, that shouldn't be possible in a couple of minor infractions in my mind.

If you don't go they will more than likely suspend your license.

 

[blopar]

Ah, once again, the Ministry has screwed up.

Stoo is correct. 9 demerit points are required for an interview.

However, I don't have 9.

Not even close. (uh, hence my definition of "minor").

I will, of course, go to the interview.

 

[Moraff]

Ah, once again, the Ministry has screwed up.

Stoo is correct. 9 demerit points are required for an interview.

However, I don't have 9.

Not even close. (uh, hence my definition of "minor").

I will, of course, go to the interview.

Might try calling ahead of time. If they have screwed up you might be able to get the interview cancelled without having to waste the time going down to point out that they're wrong.

 

[lickrolaine]

I believe it is 9 points before an interview. I went through one years ago.
After working out of town for 8 years I racked up quite a few speeding tickets. I had to go and tell them why they shouldnt take my lisense. It was decided I couldnt take public transit to work so I was granted the privilege of continuing to drive.
It straightened me right out.

I did the same thing,a long time ago and try very hard to stay clean.

 

[oldjones]

At my two sessions, many yrs ago, the interviewers were decidedly not interested in anything to do with the offences, don't try to explain any of them away. Your day in court was long ago.

They made it clear they were interested in what I had done to change my driving attitude and behaviour. They want to be able to say, sincerely, "Go forth and sin no more" and have reason to believe it.

I told my story of The Amazing Magical Sign that changed from No Left Turn to No Turns at all while I was turning right, at the corner where the cop was setting up his fishin' hole, and the interviewer got impatient and started fiddling w/ papers. When I said I'd learned to keep a better watch for signs and for cops, he beamed.

Haven't been back since.

 

[james t kirk]

Very simple way out of it....

"Look, I'm sorry, I know I screwed up, it won't happen again. But if you take my license away, I will lose my job. It's as simple as that. I can't afford to lose my job."

99 times out of 100, they will let you off the hook. They figure that it's better to have you working paying taxes than not.

Be polite to them, don't come across as stand-offish, or better than, or smug, or anything but humble pie.

I personally don't get these idiotic interview things. The rules are 15 points, not 9, not 8, 15. If you haven't lost 15 points they should leave you the fuck alone.

 

[hunter001]

I went once many years ago but it wasn't a one on one interview it was a group of people in a room and we watched a film/video. There was a brief discussion in the group including a guy the was copping an attitude that the only thing he did wrong was get caught.

I slowed the fuck down, started taking transit more and never a had a problem since.

I personally don't get these idiotic interview things. The rules are 15 points, not 9, not 8, 15. If you haven't lost 15 points they should leave you the fuck alone.

I can see it helps a lot of people to get a wake up call before they actually lose their driving privilege.

 

[kih]

Very simple way out of it....

"Look, I'm sorry, I know I screwed up, it won't happen again. But if you take my license away, I will lose my job. It's as simple as that. I can't afford to lose my job."

99 times out of 100, they will let you off the hook. They figure that it's better to have you working paying taxes than not.

Be polite to them, don't come across as stand-offish, or better than, or smug, or anything but humble pie.

I personally don't get these idiotic interview things. The rules are 15 points, not 9, not 8, 15. If you haven't lost 15 points they should leave you the fuck alone.

In my interview, my excuse was similar and I was able to keep my license. The interview did make me realize that driving and holding a license is a privledge and not an absolute right.

 

[Moraff]

Very simple way out of it....

"Look, I'm sorry, I know I screwed up, it won't happen again. But if you take my license away, I will lose my job. It's as simple as that. I can't afford to lose my job."

99 times out of 100, they will let you off the hook. They figure that it's better to have you working paying taxes than not.

Be polite to them, don't come across as stand-offish, or better than, or smug, or anything but humble pie.

I personally don't get these idiotic interview things. The rules are 15 points, not 9, not 8, 15. If you haven't lost 15 points they should leave you the fuck alone.

Actually the rules include the possibility of an interview w/potential suspension of license at 9 points (6 if you haven't attained the full license yet). Nothing new about it so I don't know why you're kvetching about it.

 

[blopar]

can you spell sanctimonious?

Actually the rules include the possibility of an interview w/potential suspension of license at 9 points (6 if you haven't attained the full license yet). Nothing new about it so I don't know why you're kvetching about it.

How about because I have a full licence and, as noted above, have not come close to 9 demerit points.

 

[tboy]

.......

I personally don't get these idiotic interview things. The rules are 15 points, not 9, not 8, 15. If you haven't lost 15 points they should leave you the fuck alone.

Hmmmm I guess you don't know the rules eh? The rules are you CAN lose your licence at 9.......but if you show just cause, they'll let you skate to 15.

I guess if it was up to you there wouldn't even be an interview process at 9, just poof, there goes your licence.

For the op: When was the last time you checked your driving record? If you "think" you don't have 9, maybe in fact you do.....Unless of course on the interview notice it said: you have incurred 4 demerit points and are required to.........(which I highly doubt).

 

[Moraff]

How about because I have a full licence and, as noted above, have not come close to 9 demerit points.

Since I was quoting james t kirk's post I thought it was clear that the you I was referring to was him not you blopar. You may recall that after you told us you hadn't got to 9 points I suggested you call in hopes of being able to avoid the need to have the meeting at all.

 

[xarir]

What the heck are you guys doing to rack up so many demerit points?!

 

[Doc Holliday]

This happened to me about 15 years ago or so. I received that same letter in the mail & instructed to attend an interview on a certain date. I found this kind of strange since i only had a month left in order to get all my demerit points back. Two speeding tickets (i went to court on one of them since there's no way i was speeding & the cop who charged me had a reputation of making up stuff....his partner had told me privately/off-the-record that i wasn't speeding....however, it was my word against theirs in court & i lost) within a month of one another had upped my demerit points to 9. That had happened almost 2 years prior to that gov't letter.

Anyways, i showed up at that interview. I had to take time off from work in order to do this & at the time having a driver's license was a must for the kind of work i did. The guy was pretty nice & he spent the first part of the interview telling me how he hated his job at times since he sometimes had to take away people's driving privileges. He then began to talk about group therapy sessions that he'd have with repeat offenders. I finally realized what this was coming to & asked him bluntly: "Are you gonna take away my driver's license?" He replied by asking me why he shouldn't do it. I first told him that i only had 2 weeks left before i began to reclaim my demerit points. I asked him why did i receive the letter now & not a year ago or so? He sounded surprised & told me that the ministry had sent me a previous interview request to which i never replied. I told him that this never happened, that this letter was the only one i ever received. He then asked me for what other reason should i keep my license? I replied that i absolutely need it for my job or else i might as well stay home & live off unemployment insurance for a while.

He eventually told me that he wouldn't be taking away my driving privileges & hoped i learned a lesson from all of this. As i was about to leave, my ex-wife came in & began to ask him why the hell had they sent me this letter with only a couple of weeks left to go until i got all my demerit points back & that she thought they were all pretty stupid for wasting everyone's time with this silly meeting. I told her politely that everything was taking care of & we needed to go. "But i want him to answer me. Please answer me!!", she blurted out. I felt sorry for the poor guy, to be honest.....

 

[tboy]

Doc: similar thing happened to me. I was on a two week vacation up north and got a speeding ticket. At the end of my vacation (friday) I went into town and paid the ticket because I didn't want to drive back up north to fight it.

Only problem was that put me at 9 points, because I was supposed to get 3 points back on the following MONDAY...two fricken days later.

If I hadn't simply paid the ticket I would have gotten my points back and even if I was found guilty, I wouldn't have hit the 9 points mark....When I went for my interview I told the guy this and we both had a good chuckle over that. During my interview he asked if I would consent to the "bad drivers class" and I said yeah, no problem, and he let me keep my licence.

I think this process is to weed out those beligerant offenders who go in there saying the government is persecuting them, they didn't do anything wrong, etc etc and hadn't and wouldn't learn a thing.

 

[fuji]

"Since I only have a very few demerit points, and prior to that, a great driving record, this interview has been a real shock and a wake-up call for me. It made me rethink the way I drive, and I realize there are a few problems. I'll lose my job if I lose my license so it's really important for me that I fix these problems and stay on the road. I've spent some time reviewing the driver's handbook, and I've been paying extra attention to X, Y, and Z which is where I have had issues. I think going forward that there will be no further issue as this is a top priority for me now."

 

[enduser1]

In my interview, my excuse was similar and I was able to keep my license. The interview did make me realize that driving and holding a license is a privledge and not an absolute right.

Really, driving is a previlage because the law says so. But we live in a suburban society based on the car. So actually it is a necessity. Also, the Canadian constitution, (an irrelevant document IMHO) sets out that every Canadian has "Mobility Rights".

The purpose of the interview is social conditioning. It is to tell you that they are powerful, which they are, and you are a worm to be squashed. Having any kind of pride infront of these petty bureaucrats is a mistake. Grit your teeth and tell them that you are so sorry. You have seen the error of your ways. The Judge set you straight. Blah Blah Blah.

It is extremely hard to do but: never tell them your side of the story or the truth. Tell them that they are great. Tell them they have helped you. Tell them they are smart and you are dumb.

EU