Hey guys,


I’m from Montreal, but this is my first ticket that I’m considering contesting, so any advice would be helpful.


There is a winter tire regulation in Montreal from December 15 - March 15. It was a nice and the roads were clean so I decided to go out for a quick ride, assuming the cops would be understanding that it’s only 3 days away and the roads have been clear of snow and ice for a while now. Unfortunately I improperly placed my trust with the cops and got pulled over. Tried to reason with the officer, but she wasn’t having it, always restating that it’s still not March 16.


The ticket was 270$ and no demerit points. After reading a couple of posts here some people would be laughing now because of the fact that no demerit points were taken and I should just pay it. The truth is I would prefer 5 demerit points and 0$ because right now 270$ is quite a lot.


I’ve been reading a lot about the process in which to fight a traffic ticket, and I found out that in toronto you guys have a plea-bargain option on the ticket itself. Unfortunaly here in montreal we don’t, it’s either you pay it and assume you’re guilty, or you plead not guilty and wait for the court date.


So here is where I need help. I know I was guilty, so I don’t mind paying the ticket but I know as a fact that in 30 days (the amount of time they give) I will not have enough money to pay it off. However in three months at most I will be able to pay in full. Is there somehow a way of not going through all this court stuff and just get an extension before a judgement is passed. I say “before” a judgement is passed because I found out that you can go to a municipal court customer service representative after a judgement is passed and they can either make you pay in installments, give you additional time to pay or a work option.



Payment after judgement


a.

Only your financial situation prevents you from paying your fine?

If you would like to pay your fine, but your financial situation prevents you from doing so in a single payment, you can negotiate terms of payment with a Municipal Court customer service representative, once you have entered a plea in your case and a judgement has been rendered. Depending on your personal situation, the customer service representative may give you additional time to pay, allow you to enter into an agreement to make instalment payments or permit you to undertake a commitment to perform a work option.




The other option is to go along with the not guilty option and contest the ticket. So the officer was at least nice enough to give me the chance of riding my bike back home without the need of calling a towing service. When I got home I did some research, and realized that the SAAQ (the automobile society in Quebec) offers up to 4 “7-day certificates” for exempting vehicles from the winter tire regulation. There are 3 ways of receiving this certificate and the one I chose was “leaving or returning to the province”. This certificate is free and is valid right away, as soon as you finish printing it out. Had I known before I would have done this before setting out!! So here’s the thing, I got the exemption after I received my ticket but the certificate says from March 12 - March 18. I forgot to mention I got the ticket on March 12. There is no specific time on the certificate that says when I requested it, it only says March 12 - March 18.


Do you guys think this is enough evidence to show a judge to dismiss the ticket. This is assuming he doesn’t go on his computer and investigates that I had got the ticket at noon, but only requested the certificate at 1:20pm. Also keeping mind that before printing out the certificate it says:


“keep it in the vehicle. Without the certificate, you could receive a statement of offense.”


The real question is would I be wasting my time, by thinking I can get away with this because of the lack of a time-stamp?


In conclusion, I don’t mind paying the ticket if I had more time or had installments, but this is only possible, after a judgement has been passed, and I’m assuming that means after having seen a judge. If you guys can help me understand that clause or if you have any advice on what to do and who to call concerning more time, it would greatly be appreciated. Also if the certificate option is actually viable let me know that you think so.


Thanks,
Eric