ontheDB

My Offense: speeding over 40 km/h over the limit (4 demerits) (145 km/h in a 100 km/h zone)
Location of Offense: Highway 400 - Seguin Township
Set Fine: $270
Total: $335.00

More details on my situation:
I was driving a rental car at the time. This is my first speeding ticket on my Ontario license (I have only one previous one on my BC license). I do not own a car; and am unlikely to own one for the next few years. As such, I am not too concerned about the insurance company aspects of this, but still would prefer to have no trace of the ticket on my record. The ticketing officer himself said the "Justice of the Peace would "knock some" off of the fine. I was interested in how much more this would cost compared to the actual cost of the ticket. and got some online quotes from the usual sites. They quoted me about $400 + GST.

The options I'm considering are:

1) to pay one of these sites (unlikely as it it is significantly higher).
2) just pay the $335 ticket (though i do not want the demerit points)
3) or to go to Court of Justice and try to get a lower plea and therefore a lower fine and less demerit points. The problem is that the Court of Justice is in Parry Sound and I am in Ottawa...and would need to rent a car just to get there, let alone the gas.

My questions are:


i) is it worth it to plea down the ticket ? (will I get a significantly lower fee and is the lower demerit worth it). Also, how easy would it be to plea and what would I say ?
ii) Is there any way to go to a different Court of Justice and plea my case there ? (I read the Traffic Ticket FAQ thread, and it seems this is not an option).


Thanks!

ontheDB

one more question:

where would I go to meet the Justice of the Peace and arrange a plea ?

at the back of the ticket, "Option 2: guilty with an explanation" and "Option 3: Trial Option" both of addresses for an Ontario Court of Justice. However, the addresses are different.

true gt

let me know if everything worked out

ontheDB

I mailed in the ticket, and opted to go for a trial option. All the quotes from the XCopper type sites were in the $400 range - too expensive.

My plan once I get a court date:

i) if i can make it to Parry Sound on the day, I will plea to a lesser charge (hopefully at least less demerits)

ii) if i cannot make it to Parry Sound on the day, just pay the original ticket fine.

I was unable to find out if I could have a 'resolution meeting' prior to having a court date. From what I have read on these boards, on the date of your court date, you just find the policeman and the prosecutor and they should be willing to deal.


Anyone have experience being able to reach a deal without having to go all the way to the court ?

Thanks!

true gt

can you just call the court house to see if they will set a resolution date for you inorder to make the deal to a lesser charge-pick up the phone and call them