Because a family member has been in a North York hospital for the last two weeks, I’ve been in possession of my mother’s car so I can hit the road at a moment’s notice in case of an emergency. I rarely drive (maybe ten times a year for the last seven or eight years) so the experience of using the Gardiner and DVP to get in and out of my west-end place has been interesting.
It got a little more interesting this afternoon as I left my place and headed up Lansdowne. As I zipped out form under the CN/GO bridge just south of Dundas and traffic cop stepped with his radar gun and nailed me for doing 69km/hr in a 40km/hr zone (I was under the impression it was a 60 zone).
We went through the regular procedure of handing over my license, registration, and insurance. After making sure I wasn’t a wanted criminal, he came back to the car, handed me the ticket and said, “The fine is $138, but take it to court and the judge will reduce it.”
I thought this was really weird. I think the police should say something like “you have the right to challenge this in court,” but to tell me outright that I should challenge the ticket is, ahem, out of order.
Now I have some kind of dilemma: do I take his advice and challenge the ticket so I don’t have to pay the full fine, or do I just take the hit? Going to court over the ticket when I know full-well that I’m guilty is a moral challenge, especially when I know its a waste of city/court resources (lawyers need to show up for the police, it backs up serious traffic offenses that need to be dealt with, etc.). My only defense is: I really was rushing to the hospital; that I never drive up/down Lansdowne; and the hill makes it nearly impossible for anyone to go 40km/hr in that zone without riding their brakes (I know that I’ve topped 40km/hr on my bike on that specific hill).
So, faithful Spacing Wire readers, I’m looking for your advice on what I should do (besides telling me not to drive — I already know that and feel guilty enough as it is).
60 comments
You should really take down that pic. The cop was doing you a favour, but posting the ticket (which can be linked to the cop using the serial number at the top) will only get him in trouble (and piss him off).
MATT ADDS: Thanks for your advice. I blocked out his name and badge number.ÂÂ
I’ve had my own share of speeding tickets – Just pay the things and forget about it. It will cost more in time to go to court. Only problem is that if you try to use ZIP or Autoshare they’ll look at your record – but one offence shouldn’t matter. Sorry to hear that your mother is not well.
Uh… and the serial number too.
I had a similar experience a few years ago (beware the speed trap by the Legion eastbound on Lakeshore – apparently quite infamous).
If the officer does not show up in court (most likely, as long as you have not pissed him/her off), you will pay nothing because it will be dismissed by the judge. However, it is still reported to your insurance company, so a few too many of these may start to hurt your rates.
As for the ethics, it’s a fine thing to have ethics, but the fact is that the sort of speeding you did is far less a menace than most other UNTICKETED aggressive driving we have to endure (as driver, cyclist or pedestrian). Police target speeding because it is less contestable in court than other offences, and it is an easy cash-grab. Notice that most speed traps are in ‘cheap-shot’ locations, not where it is most vital to slow people down for safety reasons.
Speeding tickets are a form of taxation, not policing. I hate cars, so I don’t have a particular problem with the taxation, but it would be nice if the police did more to make cycling and crossing intersections on foot less of a ‘roll of the dice’. You know, do their jobs.
Oh, and by the way – by publically posting that ticket with your postal code, everyone can now determine your home street address to within a few houses.
Hills and 40km/h speed zones will always get you. Cops like those spots because they know it’s easy to get a high number of speeders. The problem is that it’s not really fair, because even before you realize it, you’re speeding because of the hill.
So yes, take it to court, if you have the patience to do that. You’ve got a good justification (not just rushing to the hospital, but the hill factor).
On a somewhat related note, I was on a speeding bus the other day. I mean, really speeding. He was doing over 70km/h in a 50km/h residential zone. I wonder if buses can get speeding tickets?
If you are guilty – which you are – save the city’s scarce resources for something more important. It’s immaterial whether the hill was steep, or that you were rushing to the hospital, or that you never drive the route. You broke the law – plain and simple. If you think the speed limit is a stupid one, then challenge the law, not the ticket.
If judges stopped handing out rewards for reasons such as these, there would be less incentive for obviously guilty individuals to go to court – freeing up much needed resources (and police officers) for more important tasks.
Challenge it absolutely. Due to poor signage and poor street planning, it’s just plan confusing and difficult to tell what the speed limit is in certain parts of the road. To make it worse, the cops all know these confusing spots (like Bathurst north of St. Clair) and take advantage of it by staking that area out.
Challenging the ticket will hopefully bring to light the poor signage or inadequate speed limit for the road.
If you don’t feel like the charge is warranted, go ahead and challenge it in court. I think you know it is though.
take it to court, but argue that you should pay the full fine. you’ll freak everyone out.
You may also plead guilty with explanation. It is an acknowledgement that you were in the wrong, but that the speed limit was not clear, that you were going down a hill and that you were rushing. Most often, the judge will reduce the fine considerably.
If only the police enforced bus lanes, bike lanes and turn prohibitions. They could make a good bundle of money just standing at Yonge and Dundas (no turns allowed, but many do, at a danger to pedestrians, cyclists and also congesting traffic more) or on Bay or King Streets enforcing the transit lanes and turn prohibitions.
It is ALWAYS worth fighting a ticket… some companies will forgive one but if you try to switch insurance companies you’re screwed.
There are also a ton of technicalities that can help you get off form the ticket. But there’s a good chance the cop won’t even show for the appearance, at the very least you can enter a pleas of guilty with reason/excuse and hope the judge cuts you some slack on the type of fine you get.
Fortunately the ticket is a minor one.. another couple KM an hour and you would have been in major ticket area.
Ugh, I hate those 40 zones…main roads that are 40 are just begging to be used as speed traps.
I’ve never challenged a ticket, mostly because I hate the idea of standing there, facing the judge and saying ‘umm, yes I was speeding, but I still don’t want to pay the fine’…but he’s right, it probably will get reduced or cancelled if the officer doesn’t show up.
And I think the reason you were speeding is valid…you weren’t sure what the limit was…if you can legitimately claim there wasn’t a speed limit sign before the cop saw you.
And one ticket won’t impact your insurance rates at all.
Fascinating discussion. I’m with Aidan on the observation that speeding tickets are a form of taxation. Guilt seems misplaced in this case. And given that it is a regressive tax (and is only crudely connected to speed, rather than any quantifiable danger associated with speed), it seems to make sense to negotiate it in the same way one might negotiate a library fine or a parking ticket.
In the alternative, if a fine for speeding is seen as a punishment for a wrongdoing, then it would also seem incumbent to go to court and fight it for procedural reasons. Default convictions (presumptions of guilt unless you can establish your innocence or introduce mitigating factors) go against most of the tenets of our legal system. Even if you are ‘guilty’ of speeding, there are many other ways that ‘guilt’ can be mitigated — a lower fine, a suspended sentence, a driver safety course, and so on.
Good luck either way. And best wishes to you and your ill family member.
In response to some of the comments above: It is really unlikely the cop doesn’t show up. If it’s a traffic cop, this is his entire job. The court even schedules all the trials for his tickets back to back so he shows up once for all of them. Secondly, there really are a ton of technicalities. For example, since it was a 40 zone (ie not the ‘default’ of 50), there must’ve been a 40 sign somewhere. Well, that 40 sign is unenforceable if it is not continuously visible between its location and 60 meters away (note that if a sign is unenforceable, it is not an excuse for guilt, it is an indication that you are not guilty in the first place… although in this case 60 still breaks the 50 default limit). Finally, when you challenge the ticket, you will first be set up in a meeting with the prosecutor. That person will already present you with a deal and you won’t have to justify a thing to the judge. If you still want to fight it then you are scheduled for later. If the trial occurs more than 8 or 10 months from the date of the ticket, you can have the whole thing thrown out because it breaches your Charter rights to a trial without unreasonable delay. In short: fight it, it’s your right.
A.B.> Interesting. Whenever I see those prolific “fight traffic ticket” businesses, I wonder how profitable such a thing could be. But if there so many technicalities, perhaps it is.
The Charter applies to traffic tickets. That must drive somebody crazy.
I think it comes down to one question, that you should ask yourself and answer honestly:
If the speed limit was visibly posted, would you have purposely gone over it in order to get to the hospital?
If the answer is yes, then you should pay the ticket.
If it’s no, then fight it.
@Shawn Micallef:
Yeah those businesses are insanely profitable, because they charge you as long as they are successful. But they define success to mean they will lower the fine. Well… anyone can get a lower fine just by meeting the prosecutor. That’s about 15 minutes of a persons time. Basically, those businesses do things that any person can do on their own.
And as for the Charter, it applies to everything the government does.
“I know full-well that I’m guilty”
let’s hope that one comes up in court
and it’s not like the PD couldn’t put together who it was based on the ticket # and their records
I don’t think you should not challenge the ticket because “It’s the law” as some people have suggested in these comments. I think the law doesn’t necessarily reflect where society is at, and if this the case in your situation, then it should be challenged (particularly because you’re not really putting yourself at risk) — note that I’m not passing judgement on whether what you did was right or wrong.
I would follow your heart on this one — if you feel you deserve the punishment (fine, loss of points (if any?), affect on insurance), then don’t fight it. Or perhaps rationalize fighting it by the good that might come from what you’d do with the money (i.e. a little more public space advocacy?).
I don’t think it’s inappropriate for the cop to suggest you fight it — he may believe the fine doesn’t warrant the crime, and this is his avenue to do his job and feel okay about it. Also, I really like nice people: I doubt anything will bad will happen to him, but it would be sad if something does (as a result of this post).
Oh yeah, I just want to add: I think you’ve learned your lesson (what the speed limit in this area), which is the real point of the punishment.
I saw if there’s no demerit points taken away, just pay the fine. It’s not worth the hassle of waiting in line to hand in your ticket, then waiting for the trial date, then waiting in court, IMHO.
Some points:
– always fight traffic tickets. For one thing, it’s a ding on your record either way – and that can lead to higher insurance premiums. I know you said you don’t drive regularly but things could change.
– the cop is doing you a favour by telling you about the fine reduction. Think of it this way – he’s done his job by nabbing you for doing something that you admit was wrong – he’s got you, and you won’t forget the incident for a long while. The likelihood of you repeating that rush down the hill is remote unless you’re a total asshole. But do you really need a $138 ticket? Also, he’s got you for >15kms over the limit. That’s three points on your driving record – out of seven. Getting the fine reduced (by guilty with an explanation – go read up on the procedure) will mean that the offense could be reduced to 10k over or just ‘failure to obey a sign’ or something minimal that DOESN’T mean points off. And then the fine will be something like $40. But either way, you will still remember the incident and the cop’s job is done.
– next thing – those traffic ticket lawyers do one thing and one thing only – they grease the wheels of due process, by dealing in volume. I was behind a ex-cop lawyer while fighting a ticket and he was in there with about 10 clients’ tickets at once. He, the judge and the crown went through them bing-bang-bong super quick. Half of the clients were people whose first language wasn’t English. So it’s a big help to the system – and I’d bet dollars to donuts that part of the reason they get so many people off is because of the way they make the system run more efficiently.
Fascinating string of discussions and revelations of attitude: carism anyone? Yes, cars are useful to get to places that aren’t well connected by transit and we can’t all live in the core, but there’s surprisingly limited awareness of how speeding traffic distorts a public space and a community. Yes, cyclists can do a lot of damage by the combo of speed and silence and not stopping, but the faster someone goes in any vehicle the faster we all fly, including maybe the driver.
And let’s hope your family person gets better soon.
I understand from a co-worker who recently went to court over a speeding ticket is that A.B.’s comment that the cop will show up is likely correct.
I also understand that it’s routine procedure for all people that choose to contest the ticket are encouraged to ‘plead guilty with an explanation’ as suggested by Sean Marshall above. I suspect this is what the officer that gave you the ticket is talking about (meaning he’s not suggesting you actually contest your guilt).
At the beginning of the session with the judge, all people that choose this option are processed quite quickly, and the fines are reduced. Additionally I believe that you can ask for an time extension to pay.
two “technicalities” which can assist with tickets, if you choose not to pay $138 and thereby cause our society to incur the substantial cost of taking you to court. these costs include judges, prosecuting lawyers, court reporters, courtroom time, administrative expenses, etc. — and, of course, the police officer’s time spent testifying in court instead of focusing on other wrong-doings.
the first technicality is to request a trial in french. you have a right to do so. sometimes the police officer will decline to attend a trial in french, which results in a lack of evidence against you, which means you don’t pay the ticket. sometimes it’s hard for the system to find judges and prosecuting lawyers who can function professionally in french. of course, everyone could show up and the court could have to shell out for translators, in which case you pay $138 and it would have cost society a lot of money.
the second technicality is to point out that provincial law requires all traffic signs to be in both official languages. if the sign you disobeyed happened to be exclusively in english, then this could help. i would recommend contacting a lawyer on this particular point.
that’s the scoop. my recommendation: pay the fine and, for the sake of everyone else who lives in toronto, be considerate and SLOW DOWN ON CITY STREETS regardless of the speed limit!
Take option #4 and meet with the prosecutor.
I’m with Aiden and Amy on this. The current implementation of speeding fines is based on a flawed principle, and wouldn’t exist if it weren’t so profitable. And speed traps absorb resources that could be much better used to enhance public safety.
You may be guilty of speeding, but the police, courts and government are guilty of worse, and you should deny them the profits from your fine.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could convince the judge to let you instead donate the amount of your fine (plus a little extra) directly to a worthwhile charity?
I think many of us who drive have had this experience.
That is, getting the ticket, and have the officer all but push you into court.
That’s not right, neither is the procedure.
Misleading road signage aside, arbitrary enforcement aside….the fines levied don’t hit people fairly.
Which I think is one thing that bothers many police.
From what I understand…police often tried to make the ticket fit the make of the vehicle…..in other words, income contingent, using their discretionary power.
But they’ve come under pressure from the higher ups to make sure the ticket matched the radar gun.
Which, really, it should.
Except, it makes no sense to hit someonemaking 20K per year with a $100.00 ticket…..and someone making 200k with the same ticket, for the same offence.
Clearly the deterrent value isn’t the same, and the punishment is effectively much greater for the low income earner and virtually meaningless to the man or woman in the Porche.
I think a principle worth fighting for would be income-contingent tickets.
(ie. Base fine of $40.00 plus ‘x’ percentage of your income) Sweden does this.
When tickets are intrinsicly fair, they are more effective, and rightly, less likely to be fought.
***
However, you won’t achieve much on that principle in fighting this ticket, nor will you gain much on any other principle (judge isn’t likely to order an adjusted speed limit or new signage)
You will save yourself some money. Whether that’s worth it is up to you.
I could see mistaking that stretch for a 50, but 60? Yikes. I’m sure you spend enough time as a pedestrian to know what you’d think if you were trying to cross Lansdowne with an armload of groceries and someone came whipping around the bend, givin’er like he thought he was on McCowan or something. “Jackass!”, that’s what.
Stern rebuke aside, I’d say it’s worth trying to talk it down to 14 km/h over. Save yourself the demerit points. And slow the hell down next time! Jackass. 😉
I find it interesting that you find the officers suggestion “out of order”. After all, he is a human doing a job. He realises that laws do not necessarily take human fallibility into account. He also realises that your offence was probably not intentional or criminal.
However our courts DO consider these factors. Its called Equity. But the only way to get this “natural justice” is by going to court. You’ll still get fined (as you admit you should), but it will be more in line to your particular circumstance.
Oh, and don’t worry about using up resources and all that nonsense. Do you pay your taxes? That’s what they’re for.
What I do is get a court date, then petition to have the date of the trial moved.
Since traffic cops get all their court bookings on the same day, back-to-back, he’ll show up – but if you move your date, he’s not likely to show up for one ticket.
The last time I did this, I was the only scheduled defendant in that court for the entire day! Walked totally scott-free.
A lot of talk about wasting the court’s time by contesting: this is true only in the most limited way, isn’t it? The ticket-fighting businesses take little of the prosecutors’ time, and likely next to nothing in the courtroom. People who show up to fight it are unlikely to take more than the several sentences from the prosecutor to acknowledge that they have no officer to make the case, and for the judge to dismiss it.
What about our time? It isn’t the fine that is the effective punishment (for most of us) it is the time from work, or the costs in our insurance. I no longer own a car, so I don’t care about the latter, but losing a day from work would not have been an option if my employment was not stable, or was on the clock.
In other words, the law punishes the poor more than the rich. Good thing the law does that so rarely… uh…
“I think a principle worth fighting for would be income-contingent tickets.
(ie. Base fine of $40.00 plus ‘x’ percentage of your income) Sweden does this.”
James, not a bad idea, but I wonder how it could be implemented without revealing to the police or the courts the details of your income. AFAIK, this sort of personal info would only be discoverable in a criminal case.
Does Sweden not have any privacy laws?
Well you were going 29 over.. That’s a 3 demerit points against your licence. But you don’t drive much so it may not be an issue if you never want to get insurance. The reason the copper said for you to fight it is because they earn time and a half to sit in court. so way the pros and cons and make up your mind. But I always will suggest you fight it because it will be on your record for 3 years if you are convicted of the speeding violation. Check out http://www.trafficticketsolutions.ca/demeritpoints.php for a list of demerit points for driving infractions.
Matt: Give us an update!
> Due to poor signage and poor street planning,
> it’s just plan confusing and difficult to tell
> what the speed limit is in certain parts of the
> road.
If you’re not sure what the speed limit is, the default is 50 km/h in a residential area. Not 69. Even if you are “under the impression” that it was a 60 zone, you should be doing 60… although there is no good reason to get that impression if there are no signs posted to that effect. I agree with other posters in that other, more important issues, need to be addressed in policing traffic – aggressive driving in particular – but not that speed limit should not be enforced. It should be enforced much better than it is now in fact, the fines should be far greater and the demerit points far more. Perhaps then people would start taking speed limits seriously instead of basically taking their right to speed without consequence for granted.
The hill excuse is pretty lame. You gotta ride your breaks to go 40? Well… WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? Is it really so difficult to reach for the break pedal with your foot or what??
The hospital excuse is not valid either. If your mother had been in the car in critical condition and you were rushing her in to save her life – that’s one thing. But it was not a matter of saving anyone’s life, and could easily have been a matter of taking someone’s life, especially given how little driving practice you’ve had lately.
Don’t be a do-gooder, fight it. Change the court date, request evidence disclosure, file an 11b motion. Drain their resources. If everyone did this maybe the city would have some reasonable speed limits. Maybe those cops would get to go fight a gang instead of doing radar duty, I’m sure they’d rather be doing something useful anyway, I don’t ever hear kids saying “I want to grow up to be a cop so I can give out bogus speeding tickets and have everyone hate me.” You won’t backup useful services by fighting it, you’ll just backup traffic court services, there’s already a 12-14 month delay in most traffic courts.
We already do punish the expensive car owners more than the poor ones. Not the government directly, but the insurance companies.
If you drive a $100,000 car and you load up on the tickets you’ll pay a fortune to insure that car.
Um, just FYI the cops do NOT do you any favours when THEY reduce the speed. This is just a taktic.
If you fight it and loose, it could go BACK UP to the original amount. I was going to go with x-copper but decided it was a scam and didnt. Boy am i sorry now.
Its true! out of the places I called,including ex coppers, only a company called Traffic Ticket Solutions seemed honest with me about it…
What a sham this system is!
When you get a ticket in Toronto you have 3 options:
1. Plead not guilty
2. Plead guilty with explanation
3. Plead guilty.
With the first two you must go to the court, and according to instructions on the back you have 15 days from the date of offense to do this. But… If you go to court right away, or the next day, you will be told that you should come back in 7-10 days because… the cop has 7 days to file your ticket and nothing can be done before he does. So, in reality you have only about 5 days. Isn’t it sick? It seems to me that it is made so you by default choose the simplest way which is to plead guilty and pay.
“the hill makes it nearly impossible for anyone to go 40km/hr in that zone without riding their brakes ”
That says it all.. Cops take advantage of the fact its hard not to speed and put a speed trap there.. its almost intrapment! So I would say Fight it! When cops become more about helping people and less about collecting Tax then maybe we should have some moral issues about it.
I recently received a speeding ticket for doing 77Km’s in a community safe 50 zone. I know I was in the wrong and I do deserve a ticket however, the cop hit me with a 250 dollar fine and 4 points. This was my first ever offence since I had my license (over 12 years), If the fine was 150 and nothing else I wouldn’t think twice about paying for it, so therefore I am fighting it in court to try and get it reduced.
You should challenge it only because the City is in a huge budget crisis and they are using speed traps as cash grabs. More than likely thats why the cop told you to do this. He knows its bullshit but it is his job. At least he followed the rules and did what he was told, rather than just do whatever he wanted.
How can you tell on the ticket that it has been reduced???
Fight the ticket. ALWAYS fight the ticket. NO MATTER WHAT, FIGHT THE TICKET. Don’t worry, the law makers didn’t feel guilty when they instituted ridiculous fines for small offences and they keep upping them when they need more cash…as if upping them makes the roads safer – PPPPLLEAASSEE! Then the cops who hang out in what they, themselves call “Cash cow locations” knowing that 1 in 3 drivers in that location will get nailed even though those drivers are not making the road any less safe don’t feel guilty by handing out these cheap shot, meet my quota type tickets (you know, instead of like saving a life, chasing a dangerous armed criminal or heaven forbid – doing a little exercise). So why should you feel guilty doing what everyone else out there is doing at the very time you were doing what you did? My wife got a fail to stop at a stop sign when she did what everyone else does…a rolling stop…should she feel guilty….heck no! I will fight it…I will win…I got a 450.00 fine for parking in a disabled person’s spot. It was winter. It was not clearly marked…I WOULD NEVER PARK KNOWINGLY in these spots because it’s just downright shameful…but I made the mistake…should I pay 450.00 for that? I mean what a cash grab! So am I going to fight it…heck ya….I’ll tie that up in court so long they’ll forget why they gave me the ticket in the first place…and in the end…it will cost Toronto more than they’ll ever collect. If everyone fought the tickets they got – the Governments would never win and would have to rethink their cash grabs…so fight, fight, fight….never give up!
If you choose Option 1 and plead not guilty and end up loosing the trial, are trial costs added to your ticket?
Matt – Fight Fight Fight
Len – I am in a similar predicament with parking in a disabled zone. I did not know it was a disabled zone and it was not clearly marked on the street (there was a sign, but pretty high, so I missed it, honestly, the sign was not at eye level like most signs, I would say it was a good 12-14 feet high pole, anyway, I did not see it as I was pulling in). I am fighting it, I got my court date (over a year from infraction) Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Hello…..I was wondering if you’ve gone and fought your ticket yet….and if so….how long was the wait or line up to see a prosecutor to make a plea or to set the trial date………I need to fight a ticket and knowing how bad the wait is would be helpful …… thx
“the hill makes it nearly impossible for anyone to go 40km/hr in that zone without riding their brakes â€Â
That says it all.. Cops take advantage of the fact its hard not to speed and put a speed trap there.. its almost intrapment! So I would say Fight it! When cops become more about helping people and less about collecting Tax then maybe we should have some moral issues about it.
Just wondering how far back does Insurance companies in Toronto or Canada search for speeding tickets when quoting insurance for an invidual?
the best advice i got was to fight my speeding ticket. i called street legal http://www.street-legal.ca and they explained what the consequences of my traffic ticket was.
This is for Len and John S – I got a 450.00 fine for parking in a disabled person’s spot. I did not even see the signs, someone who lived there had put up there own sign and I left enough space outside there house for them to park – I thought I was being courtious …I WOULD NEVER PARK KNOWINGLY in these spots – but like you, I made the mistake, what happened in the end? Please help.
I am only now weighing in on this little debate, well, as I only found out now. That said – fight your traffic ticket. This perspective will be advocated by every legal personnel throughout the City. The fact is that a police officer is human too, and is tainted by his human desires, appetites, appetencies, and proclivilities – to suggest that you were speeding without out the fact-finding forum of the Courtroom is an injustice, and for you to accept that non-factualized determination of your rate of movement is a travesty, both to self and to society at large. Who remembers Pavlow’s Classical Conditioning Model – Listen the CP24 or other local news media and with each tax hike the question is can Torontonians bear it – YES YOU CAN, is the now extremely famous battle cry – – Help the Cities, don’t Condition them to this type of behaviour
Fighting your ticket is not personal – just business! that micro-economy of your household suffers everytime a dollar is marshalled at an unexpected endeavour, and with each dollar latently taxed by City under this guise of upholding regulatory standards imposed by the government (whatever level)for public safety is asinine – perhaps in 40 years my perspective may change.
Today, however, the young me speaks vociferously, that all traffic tickets, and any legal issue for that matter should be advocated, strongly, by strong advocates. If you are unable to do so on your own find someone who will help.
I now shamelessly end my little jig, by saying that Legal Jurisprudence is certainly able to assist in a number of issues including all driving charges such a speeding, dangerous driving, careless driving, no insurance et cetera, call us at 416.740.1871.
If we’re going to have ads on this site, I hope at least they’re paid for.
I thought about that Mark when I approved this the other day, but I was at home for Christmas, feeling charitable, and dude went to so much effort. In the new year everything is going to get tougher.
You should go and throw yourself under the bus; Mr. Moral!! I hope they arrest and convict you as you’re a disgrace to all the motorists. Cry baby!
Having been a Toronto Police officer and written many speeding tickets on S/B Lansdowne, I can tell you that it has been a 40 zone for over 30 years. Its a 40 because of the high pedestrian traffic and there is a public school on the street.
That being said I know its easy to go over the speed, its basically a clear street, thats going down hill. What the city has done is put “traffic calming” down the street to slow down the traffic. This is a great way to help everyone, the community doesnt have to worry about speeding cars, motorists naturally drive slower, and the area looks great with planters, shrubs, and bicycle lanes.
Speed enforcement should be done more in areas requiring corrective action, not just were the police officer is going to get tickets.
The police officer is told to go out and get tickets, that being said the officer knows about the demerit points and the insurance implications, and is telling you to fight it to save yourself the hidden costs of a speeding ticket. Most officers dont really care if you get a fine, save your points or even get off. They are just “doing their job”, and in doing so, understand the issues, and are trying to assist you.
If you want know more about speeding tickets, have a look at my speeding ticket website at http://www.ontariospeeding.com or call me at 416-221-6888.
Chris Conway was a Toronto traffic cop for 28 years, during that time he worked as a radar officer, accident investigator, breathalyzer technician and detective in the Hit and Run Squad. After retiring from the Toronto Police he joined Toronto OPP as a traffic officer working on the Toronto highways. Chris is now the owner of OTT Legal, a company fighting speeding and traffic tickets in Toronto.