Frequently Asked Questions

When I was pulled over for speeding, the officer didn't let me see the radar reading. Is this valid grounds to beat my speeding ticket? Answer >

I passed a police vehicle above the speed limit. The officer didn't stop me can they give me a speeding ticket later from my licence plate? Answer >

The officer was rude and disrespectful to me, I didn't like his attitude. Is there any thing I can do about this, will it help me fight my speeding ticket? Answer >

The officer reduced my speeding ticket, he said if I fight the ticket he will put the speed back up. Can I still ask for a trial? Answer >

I might have admitted my speeding to the officer, will he use it against me in court? Answer >

The officer wasn't on the street but was on private property. Is he allowed to do this? Is this considered trespassing and does it affect the traffic ticket? Answer >

The officer was speeding, I followed behind him then he stopped and said I was speeding, but he was speeding too. How can I get a speeding ticket? Answer >

What if I can't make my trial date? Answer >

I missed the court date. What will happen to my speeding ticket? Answer >

I wasn't speeding as fast as the officer said, is this a defense to the charge? Answer >

Can I dispute the speeding ticket by saying that my speedometer was off? Answer >

Can I take photographs and present them to the court for a speeding trial? Answer >

Does radar or laser make mistakes? Is there a defense to speeding? Answer >

My trial is scheduled way beyond the offence date. What can I do? Answer >

The ticket has taken a long time to come to court. Is there a time limit for traffic court? Answer >

I want the best opportunity of winning my speeding ticket, how do I get some help? Answer >

What are my options with my speeding ticket? Answer >

If the officer doesn't appear at court do I automatically get off? Answer >

What is meant by a Plea Bargain? Answer >

What is a Pre-Trial? Answer >

I have been offered a plea bargain deal, how do I know if it's a good deal? Should I accept it?
Answer >

I have seen guarantees offered and no win/no pay type claims that say I can win my case no problem. What's the honest answer about these claims? Answer >

What's the difference between traffic ticket legal representatives? Answer >

Q. When I was pulled over, the officer didn't let me see the radar reading. Is this valid grounds to dismiss my speeding ticket?

A. No. The officer is not required by law to show the radar for a speeding ticket. This issue has been tried in the courts and the courts have decided that it is not relevant whether or not the officer showed you the reading or not. The officer does not have to show you the radar reading. Most officers being reasonable will show you the speed reading if it is possible for them to do so. At times the officer will not want to, or be unable to because of any number of reasons:

There is a multiple officer speed enforcement set up and the speed has been cleared off the device to allow the next officer to do enforcement.
The officer may feel it is not safe for you to get out of your car stand on the highway as a pedestrian to look at the reading, especially if this was on a major highway. Secondly it is illegal for pedestrians to be on 400 series highways.
The officer may have cleared the speeding reading in the display so there is nothing to show to let you see the radar reading.

Q. I passed a police vehicle above the speed limit. The officer didn't stop me. Can they give me a speeding ticket later from my licence plate?

A. The officer would have to come to your house, identify you as the driver of the vehicle that passed him and issue you a speeding ticket. Although it's possible, it doesn't happen. If the police didn't pull you over at the time they are not going to give you a speeding ticket later. The officer cannot just put a ticket in the mail for you for speeding.

Q. The officer was rude and disrespectful to me, I didn't like his attitude. Is there any thing I can do about this, will it help my case in court?

A. In traffic court the Justice of the Peace will not be concerned about the officer's mannerism upon stopping you for speeding. The Justice of the Peace will tell you that the venue for complaints about the officer should be directed to the police department management.

If you are going to make a complaint be advised that making a complaint about the conduct of the officer will ensure that the police management or his superiors carefully follow your case. The management and Complaint Bureau of the police department will ensure that everything is done properly, and that the officer is there to give evidence for your trial. Make complaints with caution.

Q. The officer reduced my speeding ticket, he said if I fight the ticket he will put the speed back up. Can I still ask for a trial?

A. The officer himself cannot put the speed back up to the original speed on the speeding ticket. Only the prosecutor at court can ask the Justice of the Peace to do so. This would be a situation where you would want to have educated professional representation in court.

You should discuss this speeding ticket by calling OTT Legal Services. There are many reasons other than the obvious why an officer reduces a speeding ticket. These reasons could help us win your ticket in court. OTT Legal Services has a very high success rate with these types of speeding tickets.

Reducing the amount of the speed is totally up to the officer, and it's the police officers discretion as to what to put on the speeding ticket. Sometimes the police officer does this to give you a break other times he does it for hidden reasons that only a qualified licenced paralegal who was a traffic cop would know. This is one of the reasons why experienced former police officers like the legal representatives of OTT Legal Services have been so successful in court. They know the inner workings behind the issuing of a traffic ticket, or speeding ticket. We have the experience in speeding tickets to help you.

As some might want to you to believe, officers don't bluff and it's considered a criminal offence for the officer to make up a speed. With another speeding car coming down the road right behind you Police Officers just don't do this.

An officer can say in his evidence at court that he recorded you at a higher speed but then reduced the speed on the ticket. The prosecutor or Justice of the Peace may ask him why he did this, but the officer can just say that he was just trying to do you a favor or to account for any possible error. This is completely normal and an acceptable practice for police officers to do.

Q. I might have admitted my speeding to the officer, will he use it against me in court?

A. In a speeding ticket trial the police officer is not going to use any statements against you in court. They will not use statements against you or tell the Justice of the Peace what you may have said. It's not relevant to the case and the Justice of the Peace will not want to hear this evidence.

When your legal representative from OTT Legal Services applies for the disclosure for your case if there are any statements they will be in the officers notes. Having written thousands of speeding tickets and examined thousands of disclosures, statements of guilt are not recorded by officers for speeding tickets.

Q. The officer wasn't on the street but was on private property. Is he allowed to do this? Is this considered trespassing and does it affect the ticket?

A. A police officer can write speeding tickets or set up radar and laser on any location they want. If the property owner came out and asked the officer to move off his property the police officer would have to do so. It does not affect the validity of any speeding ticket or traffic ticket. The property owners consent or lack thereof is NOT vital to the case. A speeding offence has to have happened on the roadway, but the officer can be operating the laser or radar on private property.

Q. The officer was speeding, I followed behind him then he stopped and said I was speeding, but he was speeding too. How can I get a speeding ticket?

A. Police vehicles, Fire Department vehicles and Ambulances are exempt from the speeding laws of Ontario. Therefore a Police Officer while on general patrol can drive as fast as he wants. If something happens, then he is responsible for his speed, but he cannot be given a speeding ticket. If you are following behind a police vehicle that is traveling above the speed limit the officer is fully within his rights to give you a ticket. Here's what the law says:

Ontario Highway Traffic Act section 128 subsection 13 Fire department vehicles and police vehicles are exempt from speed laws

The speed limits prescribed under this section or any regulation or by-law passed under this section do not apply to,

(a) a fire department vehicle as defined in section 61 while proceeding to a fire or responding to, but not returning from, a fire alarm or other emergency call; (b) a motor vehicle while used by a person in the lawful performance of his or her duties as a police officer; or (c) an ambulance as defined in section 61 while responding to an emergency call or being used to transport a patient or injured person in an emergency situation.

Q. What if I can't make my trial date?

A. You can ask for an adjournment. Adjournments have to be made in writing and need to be served on the court and the prosecutor three clear days before the trial or adjournment date. Someone has to appear in court for you on that date. You cannot do this by mail. You must have a valid reason for asking for an adjournment, misleading the court is considered a criminal offence.

Q: I missed the court date. What will happened to my speeding ticket?

A. It usually means that you will be found guilty of speeding as a person who failed to respond to the speeding ticket or summons to appear in court. A conviction will be entered in your absence for the offence, and you will be required to pay the fine within 15 days of the conviction. Convictions for speeding stay on your record for three years from the date of offence and are available for your insurance company to access and use to base your rates upon.

If you are convicted through no fault of your own you can apply within 15 days to the court asking the Justice of the Peace to "Reopen" your speeding ticket. A reopening has to be done in person and the defendant must swear to an affidavit detailing the reasons for the conviction to the Justice of the Peace.

Q. I wasn't speeding as fast as the officer said, is this a defense to the charge?

A. If you get on the stand and say that you were not speeding as fast as the officer says you were then you will have given evidence to convict yourself. Remember the phrase, the man who defends himself has a fool for a lawyer?

The prosecutor will ask you, "How fast were you traveling then?" If you respond saying, well the officer said I was doing twenty five over the limit, but I was only going fifteen over the limit, then you will be admitting that your were speeding. You're convicting yourself of the offence of speeding.

The prosecutor will tell the Justice of the Peace that you admit to the offence and a conviction for speeding should be registered.

The offence is "Speeding" no matter how much you are over the limit, if you're driving one kilometer faster than the speeding limit then your speeding.

The measurement of a speeding ticket by the police is only used to access a penalty. If you represent yourself and make this sort of statement the Justice of the Peace has no alternative but to convict you of the offence of speeding, and find you Guilty.

You should not take the stand unless you can swear on a bible, or under oath that you were not speeding even one kilometer over the limit. Otherwise you will convict yourself. It is a criminal offence to lie to the court during a trial.

Q. Can I dispute the speeding ticket by saying that my speedometer was off?

A. It is not a defense to the charge of speeding to say that your speedometer was not working. A speedometer is not a required piece of equipment in a motor vehicle. You are always responsible for the speed of your vehicle. It is not a defense to say you didn't know you were speeding or you did it by mistake.

Q: Can I take photographs and present them to the court?

A. Photographs are not usually accepted in traffic court. Photographs may be accepted by the court if you can qualify them and show how they are relevant to your speeding ticket. You will have to provide evidence to the court as to time, date and location. The court does not care about the make and model of your camera. If you are going to use photographs make sure you take lots of pictures and notes about their use. Digital pictures are not normally accepted as they can be altered.

Q. Does radar or laser make mistakes? Is there a defense to speeding?

A. Any machine or instrument can make mistakes, but they are rare. Radar and laser is accurate to plus or minus one percent, so if you were stopped at 100km/h the speed may have been 101/km/h or 99km/h. The operator can make mistakes too but you have to know the questions to ask in a speeding trial.

In a speeding trial an officer has approximately thirty points to prove. If the officer does this properly no one can win the case, and the Justice of the Peace has to enter a conviction. Speeding ticket trials are won on legal technicalities presented properly before the court, by someone who knows how to conduct a trial.

Speeding ticket trials are won from knowing all the law issues about the operation of radar, qualifications required and the essential elements of a speeding charge.

The officer must provide the evidence to the court beyond a reasonable doubt that the driver was speeding.

If you don't know how the radar or laser works, the qualifications required by the officers, radar and laser testing procedures, rules of evidence, what a leading question is and what is hearsay evidence you are not qualified to run a trial and defend yourself. You need OTT Legal Services to help you.

Speeding ticket trials are based on technical aspects of procedure and law. If you don't know all of the issues you will be convicted. You need to have experience and knowledge to conduct a speeding trial.

As well if you don't know what a filing date is, the proper set fine, or what the service box means then you're not qualified to defend yourself. You need the help of the qualified legal representative of OTT Legal Services. Remember the officer probably has given evidence before the court hundreds of times on speeding tickets, how many speeding trials has the person who received the ticket run?

Q: My trial is scheduled way beyond the offence date. What can I do?

A. The answer is sit and wait. If the time is excessive you may want to consider making an 11b Application. Otherwise the delay can work in your favor. While the case is coming to court the ticket is not on your record. Neither the Ministry of Transportation nor your insurance company will know about the pending speeding trial and or conviction.

Any demerit points or conviction that may be assessed are for two years for points from the date of the offence. So if your case takes six months to come to court, even if you were convicted the six month would come off the period the points are on your record. Subsequently two years minus the six months awaiting trial means that the demerit points would only be on your record for one and one half years, not the two years.

As well this delay awaiting trial may mean that your insurance company may not know about the charge for an extended period of time. Long trial dates are good for a defendant, who knows where the Police Officer will be six months down the road, some even retire leaving hundreds of tickets in the system to be dismissed.

Q. The Speeding Ticket has taken a long time to come to court. Is there a time limit?

A. The court has somewhere between eleven months and 14 months depending upon the court and jurisdiction to get your case heard. If your case takes too long to come to trial you can apply for a “stay of proceedings” under section 11b of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

To do this you must prepare a written motion serve a copy of on the Attorney General of Canada and the Attorney General of Ontario within fifteen clear days of your trial date. The application must be accompanied with an affidavit of service and must be served on the court and the provincial prosecutor.

You can file an 11b application by yourself, if you know what to do. There are not specific forms available from the government to do this. To properly file an 11b application we recommend the assistance of OTT Legal Services to file the appropriate paper work and documentation. OTT Legal Services has prepared and filed hundreds of 11b applications and knows how to do this with highest possible results. Call OTT Legal at 1-888-668-8946 to discuss your 11b argument.

On the trial date the 11b application must be argued before the Justice of the Peace. There are four essential elements to this form of motion. It is not simple to do and requires someone with training and expertise to speak to the court. This preparation and presentation is best done by a qualified legal representative such as found with OTT Legal Services.

Q. I want the best opportunity of winning my speeding ticket, how do I get some help?

A. Qualified help to fight any speeding ticket is always available from OTT Legal Services by calling 1-888-668-8946.

You can phone for a free phone consultation at any time or send an email and get a response within 24 hours. The legal representatives of OTT Legal Services are retired police officers, licenced paralegals and lawyers with the experience and knowledge to help you with your speeding ticket or charge. Before you deal with any other company make sure the qualifications of the legal representative match the staff of OTT Legal Services.

Q. What are my options with my Speeding Ticket?

A. You have four options in deciding what to do with your speeding ticket.

Plead guilty pay the fine. If you plead guilty and pay the speeding ticket the traffic ticket goes on your record for 3 years from the date you pay it. Your insurance company has access to this record and will base your insurance premiums on this record. Any conviction on your driving record can affect your insurance rates no matter if there are demerit points or not. The fine is not the complete penalty for any speeding ticket. The penalties include the demerit points, insurance implications and the fine. As well as these penalties, many speeding tickets have a mandatory licence suspension. ‘NEVER ADVISABLE'

Plead guilty with an explanation. If you plead guilty to a speeding ticket with an explanation the court will register a conviction, finding you guilty of the offence. The ticket will on your record for three years. All of the implications of the speeding or traffic ticket will apply. The only thing that can happen is the Justice of the Peace can reduce the amount of the fine. NEVER ADVISABLE

Your insurance company has access to this record and will base your insurance premiums on your driving record. Any demerit points will still apply and the conviction goes on your driving record.

Make an arrangement to meet with the prosecutor and try to resolve your charge avoiding a trial. Commonly called a "First Attendance Meeting". Many court administration clerks will try to offer this to you, using the ploy that you can get the demerit points removed. You should be very careful accepting legal advice from a clerk at a court. This is highly improper, and the court clerk may not be acting in your best interest but for the courts. Many of the court clerks themselves disagree with this process but they are under direct orders from their superiors to promote it. Most court clerks do not understand the total costs and ramifications of a speeding ticket, nor are they qualified to give advice. If you do make a First Attendance meeting and agree to a resolution, you will be convicted of speeding! The offence will go on your driving record for three years and the conviction is available for your insurance company to access and base your rates upon. Attending at a first attendance meeting for a speeding ticket will not under any circumstances get your speeding ticket withdrawn. You will lose any opportunity to have your case completely dismissed.You will lose any opportunity for winning your speeding ticket on a technicality and the officer does not have to appear in court. There are times when a defendant should consider a first attendance meeting but these are rare and a defendant should not schedule this type of court attendance without first seeking legal advice. NOT ADVISABLE

Request a trial date. This is the only way you can win your speeding ticket. This is normally the best option for all speeding tickets. Setting a trial date gives you the best option of winning your case on numerous technicalities, and avoids the conviction going on your record and insurance rates for as long as possible. ALWAYS ADVISABLE

Q. If the officer doesn't appear at court do I automatically get off my speeding ticket?

A. Usually the answer is yes but not always. If the officer is sick, or had a death in the family, or was injured on duty and the prosecutor knows of the reason for the absence, they can ask the court for an adjournment. Normally the Justice of the Peace will grant a reasonable request of the Prosecutor, just as if you were sick they would grant the adjournment to you.

Even if the prosecutor doesn't know why the officer is not a court they can still ask for an adjournment. The defendant or his legal representative then would have to make an objection or motion to the court objecting to the adjournment and give reasons why the speeding ticket should not be adjourned and subsequently dismissed!

This is another reason why unless you know what to say at court you should not represent yourself. A properly represented defendant will have the expertise of a qualified legal representative making the right motions to the Justice of the Peace giving you the best opportunity to have the case dismissed.

The unrepresented defendant will usually have to appear on a second trial date losing the opportunity to have the speeding ticket dropped completely on a legal technicality.

Q. What is meant by a Plea Bargain?

A. Most courts in Ontario will consider a plea bargain in order to avoid a trial. Although they may consider it, some courts will not give you a Plea Bargain that may be what you want, but what they are willing to give you.

Some courts may refuse to bargain any charges and insist upon a trial win or lose.

The reason for any plea bargain is to ensure a conviction for the prosecution and thereby saving the court time. If the prosecution perceives that you are not capable of conducting a speeding trial they may not hesitate to refuse the plea bargain. If the court knows your legal representative as a person who knows how to conduct a trial, and is capable of winning as the legal representatives for OTT Legal Services are, then the prosecutor would most likely consider discussing a plea bargain, or withdrawing the speeding ticket.

A plea bargain should only be entertained after the speeding ticket has been examined by an expert for any fatal errors.

The original certificate, or ticket should be examined with the court clerk to check for the filing date to see if it is proper, that the officer is in the court, has his evidence and is prepared for a trial. The uneducated person may accept a reduced charge offered by the prosecutor without knowing the prosecutor was unable to prove the case due to a flaw that they didn't notice.

Plea bargains should be done with caution and only by persons who are experienced in the court system.

Q. What is a Pre-Trial?

A. Pre-trials are not for the inexperienced. They should be conducted only with a qualified licenced paralegal who knows what he is doing, has a relationship with the court and prosecutor, and knows the laws and legal issues involved with any traffic or speeding ticket.
A pre-trial is usually done with serious charges e.g. fail to remain accidents. A pre-trial is an opportunity for the prosecutor and the defence to sit down before the court and discuss what the issues are in a trial. Pre Trials are not normally conducted for speeding tickets.

Q. I have been offered a plea bargain deal, how do I know if it's a good deal? Should I accept it?

A. First do you know what the ramifications of the reduced charge are?

Some reduced charges have no benefit at all. Some charges have a hidden licence suspension. Are there still demerit points? Will the reduced charge affect your insurance?

The defendant may be wiser to have a trial than accept a worthless plea bargain. Is the prosecution offering the plea bargain because they know that they can't prove the charge?

The prosecutor is at the court to get convictions. They are not there to provide guidance or legal advice for your speeding ticket. It is not their job to help you, their job is to prosecute you. If you come to court unrepresented and don't know the law don't expect the prosecutor to be your friend and to help you win your case.

Q. I have seen guarantees offered and no win/no pay type claims that say I can win my case no problem. What's the honest answer about these claims?

A. An educated person always gets all the facts before making a decision.
In May of 2007 the Law Society of Upper Canada began regulating paralegals appearing in traffic court. At that time the Law Society of Upper Canada prohibited licenced legal professionals from guaranteeing their services.

No licenced legal professional is allowed to offer a guarantee for a traffic or speeding ticket. If they do they are breaking the laws handed down from the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Ensure that you are dealing with reputable people, ask them what their qualifications or background is. Use caution with people who are working out of cars or do not have an office. Ask yourself where are these people going to be next week, month or year? Do they have a support staff, what happens if they can't attend court due to illness? How do I get in touch with them later?

Make sure you investigate the background of the legal representative that is going to represent you. Are they qualified? What is their background? Make sure the company that you deal with is willing to show you who their licenced paralegals and employees are as OTT Legal Services does on this web site.

Q. What's the difference between Traffic Ticket legal representatives, or companies?

A. Experience, OTT Legal Services is the most experienced traffic ticket company in Ontario, with licenced paralegals licenced by the Law Society of Upper Canada. Our agents are former Toronto Police officers, Ontario Provincial Police officers, traffic cops, detectives, accident reconstructionists, and former breathalyzer technicians. When it comes to speeding tickets and traffic tickets OTT Legal Services has more experience and qualifications than any other traffic ticket company in Ontario.

Why Risk Losing? Call For a Free Consultation 1-888-668-8946 or Email Your Request