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Should I Fight a Speeding Ticket?

Posted By:
September 24, 2013

Articles

Is it worth it to fight a speeding ticket? There are three questions you need to ask yourself when deciding whether to fight your ticket,

Will this speeding ticket affect my insurance rates?

Apart from the fine you will be incurring, it would be worth researching how your ticket will affect your insurance rates for the next three years. There are various ways to look into how your insurance rates will be affected. First, you can look into your insurance policy. For example, find out if your insurance company will ‘forgive’ the first ticket you receive. Secondly, research the world wide web. Some sites like the Facility Association site provides a general idea of how insurance rates may be affected by a speeding ticket conviction. Furthermore, you can also speak with your insurance broker or your insurance representative regarding how the ticket will affect your rate. Ultimately, it is up to you whether you wish to inform your broker or your insurance company about your ticket. Nonetheless, there are some insurance policies which dictate that you need to inform your broker or the company once you receive one.

Will this speeding ticket result in my licence being suspended?

You will need to research into the amount of demerit points you will obtain on your record once convicted of the offence. If you have been convicted of traffic tickets in the past, it may be worth looking into how many demerit points you currently have on your record.

For fully licensed drivers in Ontario, the accumulation of 15 demerit points can result in a suspended licensewhile novice drivers (G1,G2,M1,or M2) only have to accumulate 9 demerit points for their licence to be suspended. Moreover, under the MTO’s Novice Driver Escalating Sanctions program, a novice driver who receives a ticket for speeding 49 kph over the limit or more (generally, a speeding offence which carries 4 demerit points or more) faces an automatic 30 day licence suspension.

If you potentially face a licence suspension as a result of this speeding ticket, you need to ask yourself if a licence suspension will make it difficult for you to complete your day to day responsibilities. Is driving an absolutely necessity for you? Do you drive for work for example? It may be worth fighting your ticket if a licence suspension will cause you undue hardship.

You may also wish to look into how a licence suspension will affect your insurance rates. A licence suspension can increase your insurance premium.

Will this speeding ticket affect my livelihood?

Individuals who drive for a living need to avoid traffic-related convictions in order to maintain employment. If you do drive for a living, it would be worth looking into how this speeding ticket will affect your livelihood.

If after assessing all these questions, you decide to fight your speeding ticket, it would be worth looking into what kind of fees you will need to pay a paralegal or lawyer to fight your ticket. Weigh this fee against how much time and effort it would take you to fight the traffic ticket yourself in order to determine if it will be worth hiring legal counsel. There are various fight your own traffic ticket tutorials online you can peruse to give you a general idea of how much time and effort it will take you to fight the speeding charge yourself.

In the end, weighing all of your options before simply deciding to pay your speeding ticket is the most prudent course of action.

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