silkfunkydiva

Got caught going down the QEW at 139 Km an hour with my parents on the way to Niagara at the weekend.Horrible cop,had it in for me.Got fined £300.Some well meaning folks at work have told me not to pay the fine but instead have given me the advice to go to court because the likelihood is that the cop wont turn up.If he doesnt,then I've been told the case is dismissed.Does anyone know if this is true and also if I will get points as this means my insurance will go up to the point I wont be able to afford to drive anymore.

mjanovitz

I have been waiting for it, but it won't be long now......someone is going to spank you for driving so fast and tell you to pay the fine and stop trying to get out of it. (Seen it before)

I have no idea about police here not bothering to go to court, all I can tell you is that if it was the UK and the police officer did not turn up at court he would be disciplined (or spanked). I would also imagine that it will be a bit of gamble because if you opt to go to court and lose you generally end up worse off than if you had just paid the fine.

I sympathise about the insurance, very expensive.

Mark

iaink

That was a guy skipping the country to get away with it.

139 is a bit quick..anything over 120-125 is taking a chance, but its a bit unlucky

There is a chance the cop might not show up, but I dont know what the law says about evidence in cases like these. Maybe best to consult with one of the many traffic violation paralegal services in the phone book.

mjanovitz

There do seem to be a lot of them. Has anyone used them. What can they do exactly?

Surely speeding or whatever is fairly clear cut, I would have thought it would be difficult to get you out of it.

Mark

dbd33

A paralegal drinks in the pub at the end of my street. In return for beer he's been advising on my daughter's pending conviction for 95 in a 50. According to him:

1. The cop not turning up is a fantasy. It's true that if the cop doesn't turn up and doesn't notify the court the case is dismissed but it doesn't actually happen.

2. What the paralegal can do, and what you can do, is to get a reduction in the speed so as to reduce the points. If the cop did this at the time it's marked on the ticket, the court won't reduce it again, if it's not they will. (Alas I forget what marks means what).

3. Paralegals can drag the case out for a long time, this may of may not matter. In the case of my daughter it's dragged for two years so she doesn't have a conviction before turning 25; that's important for insurance costs.

4. A paralegal firm can send a court attendant in your place, if you are not going to be paid for the day this may be cheaper than going yourself. If there's a possibility of being jailed not being in the court when the sentence is announced gives you the chance to flee.

5. Sometimes they can get you off on a technicality but this is rare, "wrong car colour" or "wrong model of car" is not enough and besides, the cops write tickets all day, they usually spell the names right.


Basically, if the cop reduced the speed at the time and they always have on my hundreds of tickets, you're ****ed; pay up and shut up.

MarkG

Maybe not in Canada, but when I was working for a British company that sold computer systems in America through a distribution company there, one of the American guys regularly got out of speeding tickets because he turned up at court and the cop didn't.

I make that 86mph... on a residential street with cars parked both sides that would be lethal, but on a decent multi-lane highway in good weather with good visibility and little traffic it's nothing for most modern cars.

iaink

Aparantly me meaning was lost. In terms of the tollerance of local law enforcement, 139 is asking for trouble is you travel that fast on a 400 series road on a regular basis.

neill

That's funny, i thought everyone on the QEW did 140. That was my experience of it anyhow. Mind you i wasn't commuting at rush-hour.

iaink

If everyone is going that fast you probably are safe, but if they arent then its buyer beware.

Ive been ticketed once at 125 on the 401 on cruise on a perfect day with no other traffic around. Got writen up lower than that, so a fine, but no points. Chatham area is like that, its revenue generation there, but most of the rest of the 401 is pretty safe at that speed, there is a stretch around Kingston that seems to be more speed sensitive too though.

Not sure at what point you start to get points in addition to the fine. Anyone?

My rules of thumb have failed me only once:
40 around schools in school hours (cant be too careful), they rightly enforce that around here.
50 in the 40s,
60 in the 50s
80 in the 60s
100 in the 80s
125 in the 100 unless everyone else is going by.
there is no 110 in Ontario

Calgal

No this is NOT true, don't listen to 'em! Try these guys - they're great in my experience!

www.pointts.ca

Butch Cassidy

Pay the fine (dont see the point in going to court), dont try to claim its a new law so you didnt realise you had to obey it, dont skip the country, dont turn into a troll.
There I have nothing more to say on the subject.

Calgal

Yeah, right!

silkfunkydiva

Thanks for the advice guys I will certainly look at that points website.I was actually keeping up with the traffic in the fast lane of the QEW.Unfortunately I was at the back so I was the one person picked off.I've got 14 days to apply for a court date and I'm going to check out whether its worth a try to at least get the fine and or points reduced.I havent got that sort of money and I also need a clean licence for part of my job.I can't do with getting fired as well.Will let you know how it goes.

sysclp

16kph faster than the limit is where points start, so 116 on the QEW or 401.
16-29 over is 3 points
30-49 over is 4 points
50 or more over is 6 points

sysclp

There is one part of the QEW that is horrible for having speed traps in that area around the wrecked ship. We are always careful there. Try XCopper as they are supposed to be good at getting you out of points. www.xcopper.ca