Failure to show proof of insurance

[Gryph]

Hey guys a girl in my class just got a ticket for failure to show proof of insurance (she was in another friends borrowed car). In any case I've read that if she meets with the prosecutor and shows a letter from the insurance company saying the car had valid insurance on that day they might toss it.

The other thing is that on the ticket both her last name and her license number are incorrect... I know they don't toss tickets on these little errors anymore, but will this even land on her record?

I told her to just choose the fight option, and then book a meeting with the prosecutor (another factor is that the reason the proof wasn't in the car is that the owner's father is recently deceased and it was emailed to him apparently, not sure if prosecutors care about this kind of thing).

Thoughts on the best course of action?

Thanks,

[GayManLoveIsOK]

the owner's father had the insurance slip for a car emailed to him...so what happened to the physical copy then?

[Gryph]

For all I know it's at her house in Virginia too, she goes to school here in Guelph... just relaying the story I was given. She had all the physical copies from the last like 5 years in the car, just not the latest one (no excuse I know).

[woobie]

Show up with the current paperwork and if possible a statement from the Ins company saying the car is and was insured on that date. That I would hope would be enough to get the charges tossed out.

If not she'll just end up with the the lesser charge of not having the slip present vs not having insurance which is much worse.

[Rob MacLennan]

You've got it right; make first attendance and show proof of insurance (original, not copy) and hope that the prosecutor declines to go forwards with it. No conviction = nothing on her record. It's not a guaranteed outcome, though, because she did in fact fail to provide proof of insurance when it was requested, at the roadside.

[Lyndsay]

What's funny to me is that they wouldn't accept old slips at roadside, yet earlier this week when I went in and renewed all my plates I didn't have a current Insurance slip with me. They just asked if the policy number on the old one was correct and I said yes. They used that and all was fine. I guess some people know how to use discretion, and some don't.

[Griffin]

What's funny to me is that they wouldn't accept old slips at roadside, yet earlier this week when I went in and renewed all my plates I didn't have a current Insurance slip with me. They just asked if the policy number on the old one was correct and I said yes. They used that and all was fine. I guess some people know how to use discretion, and some don't.

Part of the problem with this is that many people ride without insurance and will not hesitate to use an old pink slip to get out of a ticket if they can. Cops know that and are not likely to cut anyone any slack. The licencing office doesn't enforce the HTA and so they don't really care.

[OpenGambit]

You've got it right; make first attendance and show proof of insurance (original, not copy) and hope that the prosecutor declines to go forwards with it. No conviction = nothing on her record. It's not a guaranteed outcome, though, because she did in fact fail to provide proof of insurance when it was requested, at the roadside.

This is the answer.

Your explaination seems fairly reasonable.

[DaveOke]

Just curious...

If they have the wrong last name and wrong license number, and it wasn't her car, how do they tie the ticket to her if, for example, she chooses to ignore it?

[Scuba Steve]

I was thinking the same thing without you name and license # how can they do anything?

[Bweixz]

my mom got a ticket and they wrote the license plate number wrong, soooooo we ignored it and nothing happened LOL cuz that technically isnt our car . . . diff license plate :S

[nobbie48]

What's funny to me is that they wouldn't accept old slips at roadside, yet earlier this week when I went in and renewed all my plates I didn't have a current Insurance slip with me. They just asked if the policy number on the old one was correct and I said yes. They used that and all was fine. I guess some people know how to use discretion, and some don't.

I don't even show the pink slip and have never been asked for it at renewal. I just fill out the form with the numbers and name.

[Gryph]

Just curious...

If they have the wrong last name and wrong license number, and it wasn't her car, how do they tie the ticket to her if, for example, she chooses to ignore it?

Yah she was wondering this too?