So you’ve got a traffic ticket, now what?

First, what kind of traffic ticket did you get?

We’ve talked a lot about the different types of traffic tickets you can get, and how to avoid them. But what happens when you actually receive a traffic ticket? A lot of people don’t even think about their options, they just pay the fine right away. Well, we have outlined a few steps for you to think about, before you just hand over your money.

Determine what kind of traffic ticket you received. We’re not talking about the offence, but the actual, physical ticket, because those vary just about as much as the offences themselves. There is more than just one kind of traffic ticket. Depending on jurisdiction, charge, or the officer you can receive a different ticket. Let’s break these down.

To begin, each kind of ticket falls under a different part of the Provincial Offences Act (POA). Offence Notices and Pink Summons fall under Part I. Parking Tickets fall under Part II, and Yellow or White Summons notices fall under Part III. We will be covering Offence Notices and Summons Notices in this post.

Offence Notices
There are three kinds of Offence Notices, Form 3, Form 4, or an e-ticket. As mentioned above, they fall under Part I of the POA. For all of these, you must respond to the court choosing one of the options on the back of the ticket, within 15 days of receiving the traffic ticket.

Form 3
This is a blue ticket written out and given to you by an officer at the time and place of your offence. It gives you three options on the back:

1.  Plea of guilty – You plead guilty and agree to pay the full amount of the ticket..
2. Go to the court office shown on the ticket and plead guilty and make submissions about the penalty (including the amount of fine or how much time you have to pay). They will not lower demerit points, so if this is your reason for fighting your ticket, don’t bother.
3. Ask for a trial date. You intend to fight your ticket in trial by pleading not guilty. You will receive a notice after you file that this is the option you choose which will give you further instructions.

Form 4
This is also a ticket written out and received from an officer at the time and place of the offence, but it is green. It is almost the same as Form 3, with the exception being Option 2 is different.

1. Plea of Guilty – You plead guilty and agree to pay the full amount of the ticket
2. Early Resolution – Meet with Prosecutor. You can request to meet with the prosecutor in person or by telephone if you live more than 75km away, and discuss the possible resolution of that charge. If you agree to the resolution, it can be made on that day. If you do not agree, then it will be put to a trial date.
3. Trial Option – You intend to fight your ticket in trial by pleading not guilty. You will receive a notice after you file that this is the option you choose which will give you further instructions.

E-ticket
This is a full letter size piece of paper. You can receive an e ticket when an officer pulls you over and chooses to give you a traffic ticket, but rather than writing it out, it is printed electronically in the cruiser. This ticket will either be a Form 3 or Form 4 ticket, depending on which jurisdiction you are in, and your Options will appear on the right side of the page.
Summons Notice

Pink Summons
Depending on the officer or the nature of your traffic ticket, you may receive a pink summons notice, at the time and place of the offence,  rather than an offence notice. This means you MUST appear in court on the date given on the summons.

On the back of this ticket it explains what will happen when you come to court:

1. You may plead guilty to the offence, or
2. You may set a date for trial, or
3. The trial may proceed at that time

If you do not appear in court, one of two things can happen:

1.  The court may issue a warrant for your arrest or,
2.  The trial may proceed in your absence.

Yellow Summons
Yellow Summons Notices under Part III of the POA are usually for more severe offences. It is another command to appear in court, and outlined on the back of the ticket are what can happen if you do or do not appear.

If you do appear:

1. A trial may proceed, or
2. You or the prosecutor may ask the court to change the date of your trial, which the court can refuse.

If you do not appear:

1. The court can issue a warrant for your arrest, or
2. Your trial may proceed without you and,
3. If you are convicted you can be sentenced while absent and,
4. Depending on the offence you are convicted on, you can be sentenced to jail and have a warrant issued for your arrest.

A Yellow Summons is issued at the time and place of the offence. You can also receive a White Summons, which is a full piece of letter sized paper that can be issued up to 6 months after the offence took place.

Depending on which ticket you get, and the seriousness of it, there are many different choices you can make. We will cover the next step, Knowing Your Options, in our next blog post.
Every situation is different. Remember you have a right to fighting traffic tickets. At Bulwark Legal Services we provide free consultations. You can go to our website and send us a copy of your ticket. We will help you decide the right course of action to take.