DriveSmartBC

I am curious how is it that it is possible for an officer to issue a ticket without actually witnessing the alleged offense, and only going by a couple of witness calls that likely do not have the plate number of the alleged offender and in a location that is not specific?

I have been ticketed for crossing a double yellow line just before the end of the right hand lane in a passing zone. The reason for this manoeuvre was I had been in the right lane and catching up to another vehicle, I switched to the left lane to overtake the slower moving vehicle, I estimate the speed variation to be around 30 KPH.

What do I need to know to properly look after my interests if I receive a traffic ticket?

Have you ever been traveling a long distance from home and received a traffic ticket that you felt you should dispute in court? Were you disappointed to learn that in order to dispute the allegation you would have to travel all the way back to the court nearest to the place where the ticket was written?

Police often use a Notice & Order with box three checked to deal with minor vehicle defects. It requires that the person responsible make the repair as soon as possible and then report to a specific location within a set number of days to show that the repairs have been made.

Something new has quietly crept into place in the court system of British Columbia. The Violation Ticket Center opened in May of this year in the Robson Square Courthouse in Vancouver and services the entire province. The Center's only business is to act as a centralized administrative service to support the processing of Provincial Violation Tickets.

I refused to sign the ticket that I got for speeding last week. Does that mean this ticket is invalid and I don't have to pay it?

I don't like that cop's attitude. I'm going to dispute this ticket! It might seem to be the right thing to do, but when you arrive in traffic court, you will find that the justice isn't interested in hearing about it.

"Don't you guys ever do anything else than write tickets?" asked the visibly upset gentleman who had just been stopped for travelling at 86 km/h in the posted 60 km/h zone. "Can't you give a guy a warning? This is my second ticket this year and I will owe ICBC a lot of money!"

Effective February 1, 2004 the ticketed amount for violations of the Motor Vehicle Act and Regulations rose by $23. This means that most common violations will amount to $109. Speeding will now start at $138 and go upward from there according to how much you exceed the limit, and intersection violations will be $167. Ouch!