Traffic Court Appearance and four options in deciding what to do with your speeding ticket


Option 1. Plead Guilty and Pay the Fine If you plead guilty and pay the speeding ticket, the speeding ticket goes immediately on your driving record for three years. Your insurance company has access to your driving record and will base your insurance premiums on this record.

Any conviction on your driving record can affect your insurance rates no matter if there are demerit points or not. The fine is not the complete penalty for any speeding or traffic ticket. The penalties include the demerit points, insurance implications and the fine. As well as these penalties, many speeding tickets have a mandatory licence suspension.

NEVER ADVISABLE


Option Two, Plead guilty with an explanation If you plead guilty with an explanation for a speeding ticket the court will register a conviction to the offence. The speeding ticket will be on your driving record for three years. All of the implications of the speeding or traffic ticket that apply for option number one above apply here. If you do plead guilty with an explanation the only thing that can happen is that the Justice of the Peace can reduce the amount of the fine. You will still receive any demerit points.

Again your insurance company has access to your driving record and will base your insurance premiums on this record for three years from the date you plead guilty. Any demerit points associated with the ticket will still apply and the conviction goes on your record. If there is an associated licence suspension with the speeding charge, you will lose your driving licence for the period prescribed by law, the Justice of the Peace has no control over the suspension.

NEVER ADVISABLE


Option Three, Make an arrangement to meet with the prosecutor and try to resolve your speeding ticket avoiding a trial. Commonly called a “First Attendance Meeting”.

Many court administration offices will try to offer this to you, using the ploy that you can get the demerit points removed, and avoid a "contested trial".

Be very careful accepting legal advice from a clerk or employee of the court. This is highly improper, and the court staff may not be acting in your best interest but for the courts.

Many of the clerks themselves disagree with this process but they are under direct orders from their superiors to push or encourage these first attendance meetings because it saves the court administration money.

Most court clerks do not understand the total costs and ramifications of a speeding ticket nor are they qualified, or legally allowed to give legal advice.

If you do make a First Attendance meeting and agree to a resolution, you will be convicted of an offence! The offence will go on your driving record for three years and the conviction is available for your insurance company to access and base your rates upon.

Attending at a first attendance meeting for a speeding ticket will not under any circumstances get your charge withdrawn. You will lose any opportunity to have your speeding ticket completely dismissed. You will lose any opportunity for winning your case on a technicality, and the officer does not have to appear in court.

Everyone should set a trial date, just to see if the officer appears in court!

There are times when a defendant should consider a first attendance meeting, for example you forgot your drivers licence or your insurance card, otherwise a defendant should not schedule this type of court attendance without first seeking legal advice..

NEVER NEVER ADVISABLE


Option four - Request a trial date The best and only way you can win your case is to ask for a trial date to win your speeding ticket.

Setting a trial date is the best way of winning your speeding ticket, and avoids the conviction going on your driving record and insurance rates for as long as possible.

Pleading NOT GUILTY is the option everyone should take for any speeding or traffic ticket. There are numerous ways of winning your case, some very simple that anyone can do, others more complicated that only an experienced traffic court agent like OTT Legal Services should handle.


OTT Legal Services has successfully won thousands of speeding tickets, and we are the best company to win your court case. Call us to discuss your speeding ticket, and speak with our former police officers and licenced paralegals at 1-888-668-8946. We have the experience, and knowledge to win your speeding ticket.

On May 1st, 2007, The Law Society of Upper Canada became responsible for regulating the paralegal profession including all speeding ticket companies, and anyone who represents others to fight speeding tickets in Ontario, through the Law Society Act brought about by Bill 14. This means that all Ontario speeding ticket companies providing legal services require a license. Errors and Omissions insurance is now a requirement to run a speeding ticket company and to a fight speeding ticket or speeding tickets. OTT is fully licenced and insured to represent your traffic ticket and speeding ticket charge.

Why Risk Losing? Call For A Free Consultation 1-866-668-8946 or Email Your Request