Traffic Tickets

Question: I need advice to dispute two traffic tickets, Disobey Yield Sign - Section 173(2) MVA and Change Lane Unsafely - Section 151(a) MVA. This is really strange because there was no yield sign at the intersection. Here is what happened to me on Friday night.

Q: I was served 2 violation tickets. I’d like an inquiry about what I’d be looking forward to in court. I was served one count of excessive speed MVA 148(1), prohibited use of HOV, and fail to display ‘N’ sign. Also gave me a charge of operating MV with Cannabis in vehicle. Prior to that I was an N class driver with 30 months clean driving, I had not went for a class 5 test due to preoccupations.

"I'll pay the fine, I just don't want the points." This is not an uncommon desire expressed by drivers prior to a traffic court hearing when asked how they want to proceed. If the violation ticket was issued with the accused identified as the driver, penalty points follow the conviction as night follows day. There is no escaping them.

On September 9, 2015 Edward Scherbey was driving a vehicle exiting a school zone. His speed was measured using laser at 56 km/h. Constable Sabulsky stopped him and issued a traffic ticket for speeding in the school zone. He disputed the ticket but was not successful.

You have received a violation ticket and have decided to dispute the allegation in traffic court. The date has been set and you can't wait to get in there and tell the judicial justice that your ticket should be tossed. Have you given any thought to preparing for the dispute or are you just going to wing it?

I received a speeding ticket. which I was shocked as I didn't think I was speeding.  When I looked at the ticket closely, I noticed the date of Feb 30th instead of Feb 20th. 

This is a case that dates back to November 1, 1962 in the British Columbia Supreme Court. It is the origin of what is known among police officers as the Schryvers Test and is used to assist in properly identifying the driver in traffic court as the accused.

My 83-year old father got a violation ticket and I am considering whether I should (or can) dispute it on his behalf. It is a somewhat unique case.  My father had shown signs of  mental illness and last month I just managed to get a geriatric specialist to send in a medical report that requires him to take a driving assessment.

Quite some time ago I wrote about an initiative to trade your ticket for driver training. I was very pleased with the outcome of the one instance that I tried on my own, but the program never took off as the provincial government required the RCMP to provide it to all drivers if it was implemented. The Victoria Police Department is trying something similar through Restorative Justice Victoria.

Jewel Taylor was issued a 3 count violation ticket in North Vancouver and in February of 2016 paid the fines shown on the ticket. She subsequently received a bill from ICBC for the point penalties involved totalling $640. Shortly after that she applied for an extension of time to appeal her conviction. She was 18 months late in doing so according to the Criminal Rules of the Supreme Court of British Columbia.