Fighting speeding ticket: A FEW QUESTIONS?

[MAZDA Kitten]

I have a few questions pertaining to fighting speeding tickets.
I was booked going 36 over on the 403
I have... er, I meand HAD a spotless driving record with no speeding tickets ever in over 10 years of driving
Should I fight it myself and plead to a lesser charge?
or.. should I go through one of those X-Copper places
If I go through a third party (X-Copper) do I have to show up for court?
If I decide to fight it myself what can I expect in court? Do I have to talk or does the 'defense' do all the talking for me?
I have some errors on my ticket as well
On the model he wrote "BLACK" and year he wrote "07" (its an 04)
Could this have any leeway in court? I doubt it but I'm just wondering.
Lastly does anyone have any recommondations on who to deal with if I decide to go third party?
I'm in the Dixie/401 area and I know X-Copper is just down the street from me. These places are a dime a dozen but I want someone who had proven results
Thanks :)

[dentinger]

i went with an X-coppers place, i forget what it was called, but mine was in Burlington, on Harvester.
i was originally charged with Careless driving (6 demerit points), with a $325 fine, and a 30 day suspension.
the x-coppers were able to reduce that to 'driving in unmarked lane' (3 demerit points), with a $100 fine, and NO suspension.

i did have to show up in court, but my defense did all the talking. all i had t say was my name i believe. i think my time in courst last a whole 20 minutes.

and im not sure if the "black '07" will affect anything. it might tho, you could always ask the x-coppers. i know on mine they mispelled my last name. and i think the only time when it matters is when the write ur license plate down wrong or something like that.....

with getting booked for 36 over in a 100 zone, (which is pretty much just going with the flow of everyone else), and having a clean record for 10 years, my guess is that you have nothing to worry about.

[fini]

Hey MK,
Most of the time, the Officer who wrote you the ticket won't show up for court, and if they do you can still probably have the ticket thrown out or reduced to a lesser charge. The reason is because:
a) you have a clean record
b) i doubt the officer has proof you were doing 36 over with a speed gun.

I don't really see the need to use X-Copper and the like.


That's my short story... Cause I'm at work. I'm such a good employee!

[SIM SIMMA]

A few years back i was clocked going 153 on the 401 heading to Montreal in my VR6. It was that damn stretch where there is nothing to look at and i was getting tired and not paying attention to my speed

I was not given a ticket, but a summons to court. The court was out in the boonies somewhere and the court date and time would have required me to leave at like 4 in the morning to go.

I bit the bullet and paid Pointts to go represent me as I had had previous good experiences with them.

If you hire Pointts or X-Copper etc you will not have to go in to court. They go on your behalf. I had top pay Pointts 600 bucks. The reason it was so expensive was because it was a charge of reckless/careless driving (going over 49km/h) and would have destroyed my insurance. So it hurt but the end result was no points and I just had to pay a monetary fine of $345. So all said and done I paid just under a 1000 but it was worth it to keep that crap off my record.

If you go yourself I believe you can speak and give an explanantion but not sure that usually helps your situation unless you had a real good reason. Not sure if the slight errors on the ticket will help if he still got your license plate correct.

[MattC]

ouch, 1000$ for 50kmph over.

I am not gonna speed anymore....

wait, nevermind I prolly will :chuckle

[SIM SIMMA]

IT hurt in the short term but in the long term it had to be done to not affect my insurance rates.

I believe because of where the court was I had to pay Pointts travelling costs as well. They sent their rep from Ottawa which was the closest office I believe. so after everything it was $600... then the fine I had to pay was $345 or something.

If I was found guilty my rates would have shot up 100% and I would be screwed so I had to do it.

All these guys that work for Pointts or X-coppers etc know people within the system... I have yet to hear of anyone using any of these ticket fighters not getting a good result.

[MattC]

yeah, you obivously made the right choice, cause regardless of what you said in your own defence, if you didnt know the loopholes, you would have been nailed to the wall.

[Skarbro]

NEVER plead guilty to a lesser charge. That won't help you when your insurance renews.

Always fight it. Never tried X-Copper, but it's a good idea.

[Fuman]

MK, if you want I can ask my uncle for traffic ticket fighter contacts in your area. Mine only does york region ones.

nevertheless, fight it. With ticket fighter lawyers or agents, you do not have to go to court. The court will send you a summon, but you don't have to go. (At least in york region, as that is where I got my ticket).

[MAZDA Kitten]

Fuman;

Yes please! Any info or suggestions would be so appreciated. I dont even know where to start the whole process but please ask your uncle for any recommendations
Thanks alot!

[Virgy]

Hey MK, I had a similar ticket like yours it was 114 in an 80, on of those boonieville side streets. Anyways I decided to go to court and try my luck. First I spoke with a JOP and she told me they where willing to drop the ticket to 95 in an 80. No point and like $125 or something like that. Then I had to go before the judge who was a real prick and decided to give me a lesson on speeding, blah blah blah this and blah blah blah that. I just had to tell him my name and plead guilty to the new charge and that was it. I had 1 prior speeding ticket to that, so you with a clean sheet of 10 years, should get a even better result. If how ever you don’t like the JOP’s offer you can always plead not guilty and take it to next step. If the cop fail to show then your ticket is dismissed. Maybe we should get Point’s as a sponsor, not that I am encouraging speeding or reckless driving but, S**T HAPPENS.

[sp3GT]

Aren't cops more likely to show now, I've heard they get paid for it now.

[Broli]

the 07 on the ticket is the sticker on your car not the year of ur car.

in toronto u can just walk in for a first attendence if all you want to do is plea it down, if you want to to beat it completely go with an agency, they may be able to do it, but for urs i bet they just get it down one level.

[MAZDA Kitten]

Aren't cops more likely to show now, I've heard they get paid for it now.

Im hoping he's on a vacation when my court date comes up LOL :bana2

[MAZDA Kitten]

.. and thanks everyone for the feedback
Time to make some calls tomorrow

[dentinger]

Aren't cops more likely to show now, I've heard they get paid for it now.


the cop that booked me showed up, along with like, 4 others.

[chinsterr]

Aren't cops more likely to show now, I've heard they get paid for it now.

I heard they get overtime pay now to go to court ... for york region of course (nothing better to do).

I called the cops one time on kids throwing rocks at a bunch of geese, york region came right away. LOL it was the funniest site ever !


But ya, MK go with Points i heard they are better than x-copper.

[kid_icarus]

this is almost like a question for you guys

but 4 years ago i got my first speeding ticket going 30 over in a residential area rushing to get to softball practice.

had a clean record, but the cop didn't like me cuz i was dressed in a nasty tank top and raggedy pants and probbaly looked like a punk to him.
didn't show any leniency

so similar to you kitty.

however i didn't have the big bucks to fight the ticket with x copper.
went in for hearing on my own and took a guilty sentence to get going under 15 which results in NO demerit points if I believe and is considered a minor conviction.

before i did this i spoke with my insurance company and they said your "first" minor conviction is not held against you

if you have a clean record i think the court will usually send it down to a minor conviction for you... but i COULD be wrong. in essence it didn't damage my record and they fall off your insurance in 3 years.

if anyone can speak to this please do so

[starwind]

According to TD Insurance on their "The Greatest Myths About Auto Insurance (http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/tdinsurance/auto/learningcentre/myths.jsp)" webpage:

<begin quote>
Getting a speeding ticket means your insurance rates will go up.

Not necessarily. Your first minor speeding ticket (up to 50 km/h over the speed limit) will probably not affect your insurance rate. But accumulate two or three convictions and you'll probably be paying more to be insured. A major speeding ticket (more than 50 km/h over the speed limit) and your rates go up for sure.
<end quote>

[Fuman]

i will be seeing my uncle for lunch tomorrow, get back to you probably tomorrow night.
edit: i think we should sticky the link

starwind's post (#19)

[Fuman]

my car just uses x-copper... i think u have their contact already.
Sorry, i thought he used some other one.