Strategies To Combat Traffic Tickets In Court

You may think that getting pulled over by a police office for a traffic violation is stressful, but if you have ever been on the receiving end of traffic tickets you know that the stress does not stop there. Once you have received a violation you have the option of paying the fee and having the ticket stick to your driving record, at least for your provinces required period of time. A traffic violation will also increase your insurance premium rates. Your second option is to dispute your violation in a court of law.



Several provinces will allow you to challenge an officer's subjectivity. Challenge the officer's view of how he/she perceived your actions. Getting pulled over for making an 'unsafe' left turn can be easily challenged. Describe how the officer was at a vantage point where he/she could not make this call. Describe how you were acting accordingly and safely.



In order to avoid the scenario of your word against the officer's word, bring factual evidence with you. Typically, when it is your story against the story of a law officer the judge will often side with the officer. This means you can not depend solely on your words as a means of defense. In order to raise doubt in the mind of the judge, you have to bring convincing evidence of your account of what happened.



If possible bring eyewitness accounts of the incident. People who seen the alleged incident such as passengers or bystanders can work as eyewitnesses. Visual aids, such as a simple diagram showing your vehicle and the police vehicle can be helpful aids. These diagrams can explain how the officer was not in a position to make a clear call from his vantage point.



Photographs are another example of visual aids. Bring photos of hidden or damaged road signs. This can help illustrate how you did not see the sign. You can also use this as another means of detailing the officer's weak vantage point. For instance, snap a few pictures from where the police car was standing, and where your own vehicle was. This may raise questions about just how clear of a judgment the police officer made.



Proving there were circumstances beyond your control may help in your favour. For instance, if you unknowingly passed a pedestrian walk because the strips were not visible (because they were faded), how could you have stopped? You could not stop because you didn't know you had to stop in the first place. This makes the violation, although committed, an honest mistake.



In some cases trying to prove that your actions were legally justified may help in your favour. You may have been driving slowly in the left lane in order to prepare for a legal left turn. Although you may have actually been driving slowly, you were preparing to make a safe turn.



Sometimes it may feel like beating the system is impossible. It may also be easier to just pay the fines associated with traffic tickets and move on. On the other hand, traffic violations can be very costly and not only in the immediate sense. You will have to face increased insurance rates as a result of this violation as well.