Nearly all drivers know that sinking feeling you get when you hear sirens and see those red and blue flashing lights in your rearview mirror. Pretty much no one likes receiving a traffic ticket, even when it was given to them wrongfully. Many people end up paying for their fines regardless of whether or not they believe they were wrongly accused. Some people are afraid of confronting the police officer who gave them the ticket in court; fighting might seem like a monstrous task for many people. However, you shouldn’t feel afraid or intimidated. You won’t be seen as a bad person for trying to defend yourself if you have been wrongly accused. Plus, you could help yourself avoid costly financial penalties and punitive increases to your insurance.
Fighting your ticket can seem challenging, depending on how familiar you might be with the process. So here are a few things that you should know about fighting your traffic ticket.
Before you can think about fighting your traffic ticket, think about how much you think your time is worth. Disputing a ticket can take a huge chunk out of your time, including a daytime appearance in court that might need you to take a day off of work. Will what you lose from taking work off be worth what you could save to beat a ticket? You should take some time to make these considerations.
With that being said, the financial penalties can go beyond just paying for the ticket. Your insurance premiums could also become affected, especially if you get demerit points. Getting one or two tickets could mean that your insurance rates jump up, especially if you are a younger driver on the road who is already paying a premium for your insurance.
When you dispute a traffic ticket, make sure you are ready to appear in court. You will most likely be given a day to appear in court to plead your case in front of a judge or justice of the peace. Many people agree that your best bet at beating a ticket is to show up to court and hope that the officer who gave you the ticket doesn’t show. There are a lot of reasons why they might not. If the officer does not come to court, you will likely beat the ticket since they won’t be there to defend the ticket’s issuance.
In some cases, you could get an option to deal with a Crown prosecutor to get a lesser charge or a reduced fine amount, or both. This means that you will plead guilty to an amended charge. This could result in a reduction on your fine or a substituted charge that may have less demerit points. Any plea deal may still affect your insurance premiums, so seeking legal advice regarding any plea deal that is offered is highly recommended.
