Information related to traffic tickets and traffic court.
This is a case where Timothy Drewcock appealed his conviction for speeding in traffic court. His position is that the JJP should not have admitted police radar evidence because there was no evidence explaining when and how the radar instrument used in the case was tested and what tests were made.
Police often issue a legal document called a notice & order with box #3 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. It sounds simple enough but it is surprising how many misconceptions there are about this.
It's relatively rare to see a traffic court decision appealed by the Crown. In this case, Aria Seraji was charged with excessive speed and disputed the traffic ticket. After his trial the judicial justice found that Mr. Seraji was not driving at excessive speed and convicted him of the lesser included offence of speeding. Crown appealed the decision.
Way back in 2007 the Offence Act was amended by Bill 33, adding section 15(3). This amendment would allow the disputant the same privilege as the prosecutor in conducting a trial by teleconference or telephone. On June 22, 2020 this amendment was finally proclaimed to be in force.
Jagger Ross Schurman was stopped by police in Vancouver for a number of violations while he was driving his mother's car. "He was under the impression that he would be principally fined but that the tickets would not go on his driving record. He also indicated that he was led into an erroneous understanding about the effect of pleading guilty with respect to the accumulation of points against his driver's licence by the attending officer's roadside statements."
Smart phones and dash cams may produce video evidence to defend yourself with in traffic court. However, it's not a good plan to show up with your smartphone in hand and try to show that video to both the prosecution and the judicial justice while you explain your point. In fact, some judicial justices will refuse to allow you to enter evidence in this manner.
"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!"
Jarod Eide was ticketed for using an electronic device while driving on December 13, 2017. He did not enter his dispute of the allegation within the required 30 days of having received the ticket. Subsequently, he applied for an extension of time to dispute on May 11, 2018 and it was denied by Judicial Justice Adair.
Our government continues to roll out electronic tickets, which are intended to replace paper traffic tickets, reduce red tape, allow officers to respond to traffic offences more efficiently. They will also provide more accurate data that will help to improve road safety programs and policies.
Q: I was issued two tickets in June of 2018, one of them for excessive speed. I was and still am an N driver. It occurred at 142 Street and 72nd Avenue in Surrey in a speed trap. I acknowledge the fact that I was speeding but did not reach the over 40km/h threshold. I have evidence from my iPhone 8 Plus and the Life 360 app that shows the speed I reached was 3km/h fewer than 40km/h over the limit. Any advice is greatly appreciated.