I received a speeding ticket and in the description of offence field it simply states "Speed 57 km/h" It does not include what the posted speed limit was.
Is this a sufficient description?
Does the offence noted need to indicate what the posted speed limit was?
The description must give the accused sufficient information to know what offence they have committed.
From the Offence Act:
Violation ticket
14 (4) A violation ticket must be in the prescribed form and must contain all of the following:
(a) a statement of the alleged contravention;
(8) The use on a violation ticket of
(a) any word or expression authorized by the regulations made under this Act or another Act to designate an offence, or
(b) a general description of an offence is deemed sufficient for all purposes to describe the offence designated by that word or expression.
Since you did not include the section number of the alleged offence, I can't tell you what the wording authorized by regulation is.
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The wording should be Speed Against Municipal Sign if one follows the Violation Ticket Administration and Fines Regulation.
However, something similar would be sufficient. Yours is really not similar and you could argue that it does not give you sufficient notice of what you are being charged with to make a proper defence. If the justice in traffic court agrees, they will dismiss the ticket.
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Thanks for the link, I have read the Offence Act previously and I was having trouble finding the pertinent regulations. That clarifies things greatly.
This will be my first tactic if I ever get a court date on it, there are other errors and flaws on the ticket, however this one was the only one that could be considered fatal to the charge.
Failing all else, a thourough cross-examination of the evidence should bring sufficient doubt. I have a high confidence of winning this, which is important as I've got a perfect driving record as it is already and don't need a blemish.
Thanks for your help.
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...drop back after the trial and let eveyone know what happened.
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Will do. I haven't received a date yet, only a letter saying that my dispute notice was received.
If the trial date is 10 months or more after the date of the ticket I will file for a Sec. 11(b) Constitutional remedy. If the matter ever does make it to a court room I will be sure to update on the result.
Thanks again for your help.
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Another point has come to mind, and I've tried to research it but I can't find anything concrete.
Drivers in BC are generally taught that to find the end of a playground or school zone, that you should look for the back of the sign on the other side of the street to know when the zone ends.
On this particular street, there are many signs along the roadway that are more-or-less haphazardly placed in a manner that if one were to observe this method of determining when a particular zone ends, it would leave large stretches of roadway where the zone and speed limit would appear to not apply before you would hit the next sign in your direction of travel.
So my question is this: Is there a specific regulation that spells out, in legislation, that the back side of a zone sign (playground or school) indicates the end of that particular zone?
Thanks
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On this particular street, there are many signs along the roadway that are more-or-less haphazardly placed in a manner that if one were to observe this method of determining when a particular zone ends, it would leave large stretches of roadway where the zone and speed limit would appear to not apply before you would hit the next sign in your direction of travel.
... which street did this event (or non-event) occur on, and heading in which direction?
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The matter was settled today.
I initiated a Charter Argument for a Section 7 violation of the right to full answer and defence.
In the end, the only piece of disclosure that I had asked for that was still outstanding was the user manual for the LTI 20/20.
I had sent the Officer a final message 3 weeks ahead of the hearing asking one last time for the user manual.
The response of the Officer was to instruct me to "google it". A suggestion that I balked at, but googled none the less, but was not able to find specifically what I was seeking.
The Officer met with the Crown just before the court session for my Charter Argument. I imagine that the Crown was not happy with his suggestion to "google it" (the user manual), and before I began my Charter Argument, the Officer told the Court that he wished to withdraw the ticket.
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Also, and separately, I think that's an absurd speed zone along there; for one thing, there are a bunch of Playground signs w/30 km/h tabs on them going each way for several blocks. Very hard to figure out where it begins and ends.
Plus which, although a busy area, the various road, bike path, and pedestrian users all seem to get along without close calls; so probably a permanent 40 km/h limit from Burrard to Denman would be more applicable.
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Answer