Importance of Fighting Traffic Tickets
Failing to address a traffic ticket can lead to severe repercussions. Simply paying the ticket, ignoring it, or attempting to handle it on your own might seem like an easy way out, but it can cost you significantly in the long run.
Consequences of Traffic Convictions
- Fines and Points: Traffic tickets often come with steep fines and demerit points. Accumulating too many points can result in a license suspension.
- Insurance Rates: Traffic convictions can double or triple your insurance rates. Insurance companies view these infractions negatively, leading to higher premiums.
- Employment Impact: Losing your license due to points or convictions can greatly affect your employment, especially if driving is part of your job. You may even be bound by an employment contract that doesn’t allow you to have any demerit points or convictions on your driving record.
Types of Traffic Offences
- Speeding Tickets: Speeding can result in fines and points on your driving record. The severity depends on how much over the posted speed limit you were driving.
- Careless Driving: This offence carries severe penalties, including high fines and points. It shows reckless behaviour and can impact your driving record significantly.
- Distracted Driving: Using a handheld device while driving can lead to a licence suspension, fines and points. Distracted driving is becoming a common reason for traffic tickets.
- Illegal U-Turns and Stop Sign Violations: These offences can bring fines and points, affecting your clean driving record.
- Miscellaneous Traffic Offences: Many other Highway Traffic Act violations still carry significant penalties and fines.
Legal Representation
Licensed paralegals specialize in traffic offences and can provide knowledgeable representation. They know how to challenge evidence, consult on your best options, and aim to protect your driving record.
Process of Fighting a Ticket
- Consultation: A consultation with a paralegal will help understand the charges and potential outcomes.
- Disclosure: Reviewing the evidence against you is crucial. This can include police officer notes, radar readouts, and more.
- Trial Preparation: Your representative will prepare your case for trial, including gathering evidence and witnesses.
- Resolution Meeting: Sometimes, a lesser charge can be negotiated to reduce fines and points.
- Court Appearance: If necessary, your case will be presented before a judge, where your representative will argue on your behalf.
Benefits of Professional Help
- Expertise: Paralegals know the intricate details of traffic law and can pinpoint weaknesses in the case against you.
- Cost-Effective: Although there is a cost to hiring legal help, it is often far less than the cumulative costs of fines, increased insurance rates, and potential job loss.
- Peace of Mind: Knowing that a professional is handling your case provides reassurance and allows you to focus on other aspects of your life instead of worrying about court dates and legal procedures.
Protecting Your Driving Record
Fighting a traffic ticket is an investment in your future. By seeking professional advice and representation, you can mitigate the long-term implications of traffic convictions, maintain your driving record, and avoid unnecessary financial and legal troubles.
Video Transcription:
I’ve received emails, phone calls, and I’ve had my suit tugged on outside the courtroom by potential clients asking me this particular question. That question is, why should you consider fighting your traffic ticket? The answer is an important one in this regard. We live in a time where we have high interest rates, expenses have never been higher.
The challenges of modern life in Ontario are becoming more and more difficult. There is less and less funding to do the things we would like to do or want to do. People are challenged with their paycheques and there is less resource overall. So most people are going to try to protect what they are going to be spending.
There’s a good reason for that, is basically what I’m telling you. Therefore, the answer to this question is, yes, it is a good idea. The reason why it is such a good idea is because the costs associated with not doing anything about your traffic ticket. Meaning, you’ve just paid the ticket, worse, you’ve ignored it, or you’ve tried to deal with it on your own.
The reality is, you need to invest or think about that investment in this way. When you have a client, for example, a stunt driving allegation, that client, if they do nothing about it, is subject to some significant fines. A significant driver’s license suspension. When those things happen, the consequence is not immediate.
Meaning, they end up with thousands of dollars in fines, they can no longer drive. That can obviously affect their employment if they need to drive to get to work or if they professionally drive. Those are a big deal. That’s a big problem when we live in a time where people don’t have as much money as we used to.
What we want to do is correct that and get that particular client during the representation into a better place where they’re not spending so much money, they’re not going to lose their employment and the further consequence of having that conviction on their record of that magnitude is going to double or triple their insurance.
So the quick down and dirty answer of should I hire someone to help me is yes. You do need someone. It is an important thing to do. The cost of getting the help is pennies compared to what the savings would be. So, I strongly consider you get a professional to take a look at what you’re facing and invest your money and your time in finding that help.
