ticket help and insurance questions?

[K24_CM7]

Alright so this sucks, just got on two wheels and found insurance that was reasonable.

I had 2 minor speeding tickets over a year ago, they were minor tickets for a reason, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time or just had some bad luck.

Not a big deal, turns out my rates at TD were okay with the tickets and they said they allowed up to 2 tickets... but now I recently got my third.

Which was because I slightly rolled a stop sign but i literally barely rolled, I just hate starting off in first gear in my car and rather go from 2nd since the syncrhos in my first are sorta worn, anyways it was just enough speed to not be completely stopped, so like 2km/h ? not even sure. I was a bit in a rush to write an exam at university and he was hiding right down the street. The street was completely dead because it was towards of the end of the exam period AND it was on a saturdayso traffic was less than it normally is (aka no traffic).

I get the ticket and the cop tells me to NOT plea guilty and pay, but rather see a prosecutor, he purposely told me? I know its his job to give tickets but what does something like this mean? He mentioned it can be reduced but can i expect it to not be on my record? or what could I expect from this?

Im scared this third ticket will either screw me over in terms of rates or is it possible to get dropped? because this is my 3rd ticket and apparantly TD allows 2 ..

Any input guys?
My future riding seasons might be in jeopardy =(

[AF4iK]

Set a trial date. You can try first attendance with a prosecutor to see if he'll wipe it clean (I've seen it happen) but if he doesn't then ask for a trial. TD won't see this ticket until a convinction is entered into the system and it lands on your abstract. Unfortunatey, since you got your other two tickets less than 3 years ago, come renewal time you will have 3 on your record IF you don't get this rolling stop charge thrown out. Set a trial date, apply for disclosure and gather as much evidence as you can to cast the officer's evidence into doubt. Unless he had a camera on you he has only his word and notes to back him up so it's not like getting caught speeding by radar.

I got a ticket for the same thing a few years ago. I recorded the exact date/time that it occurred, took notes on weather conditions, visibility, position of police cruiser relative to my own and any obstacles between us. I even hopped on Goggle streetview to get some pictures of the intersection where it happened. Turned out the cop car was hiding in that same spot on google maps lol. it showed that he was hiding behind a large building sign that, IMO, obstructed his line of sight to my vehicle. Take actual POV photos if you can. There's more to my case than this but at the end of the day I got lucky and the officer disappeared when it was my turn to approach the bench. They paged him 3 times but he was nowhere to be found. My guess is he had to go to the can lol. I was actually kind of looking forward to trying my case but I can't complain about the outcome.

[EDIT] Btw, not saying that any of this stuff I tried to do would've got me off the hook. I simply had no choice but to fight it in court so I did my best to build a case.[/EDIT]

[VifferFun]

You might want to post in the legal section. The officer may have felt bad for you, but if he really did then you would expect him to let you off. Perhaps he enjoys going to court because of the paid overtime?

If you plead "not guilty" and go to court, you need to have the conviction thrown out. A reduction will do nothing for you from an insurance perspective -- a minor conviction is a minor conviction, regardless of the reason or the number of demerit points assigned.

[K24_CM7]

Set a trial date. You can try first attendance with a prosecutor to see if he'll wipe it clean (I've seen it happen) but if he doesn't then ask for a trial. TD won't see this ticket until a convinction is entered into the system and it lands on your abstract. Unfortunatey, since you got your other two tickets less than 3 years ago, come renewal time you will have 3 on your record IF you don't get this rolling stop charge thrown out. Set a trial date, apply for disclosure and gather as much evidence as you can to cast the officer's evidence into doubt. Unless he had a camera on you he has only his word and notes to back him up so it's not like getting caught speeding by radar.

I got a ticket for the same thing a few years ago. I recorded the exact date/time that it occurred, took notes on weather conditions, visibility, position of police cruiser relative to my own and any obstacles between us. I even hopped on Goggle streetview to get some pictures of the intersection where it happened. Turned out the cop car was hiding in that same spot on google maps lol. it showed that he was hiding behind a large building sign that, IMO, obstructed his line of sight to my vehicle. Take actual POV photos if you can. There's more to my case than this but at the end of the day I got lucky and the officer disappeared when it was my turn to approach the bench. They paged him 3 times but he was nowhere to be found. My guess is he had to go to the can lol. I was actually kind of looking forward to trying my case but I can't complain about the outcome.

[EDIT] Btw, not saying that any of this stuff I tried to do would've got me off the hook. I simply had no choice but to fight it in court so I did my best to build a case.[/EDIT]

Its odd because the cop specifically told me to just see a persecutor and not waste my money with a lawyer, and tell them I was late for an exam because it was right outside of mcmaster and I have proof I had an exam, Other than that Im not sure of what else to say as an excuse? =S , the car is under my dad's name and its stick, maybe i can say im not used to it and i was scared to stall it ?

You might want to post in the legal section. The officer may have felt bad for you, but if he really did then you would expect him to let you off. Perhaps he enjoys going to court because of the paid overtime?

If you plead "not guilty" and go to court, you need to have the conviction thrown out. A reduction will do nothing for you from an insurance perspective -- a minor conviction is a minor conviction, regardless of the reason or the number of demerit points assigned.

I will probably post one up in the legal section, didnt want to post so many threads. And yeah I was thinking the cop had to meet his "quota".

And what are the chances Ill get dropped from TD if they do find out?

[AF4iK]

Unless you somehow convince the prosecutor to drop charges, any other negotiated settlement will involve you entering a plea of guilty so I would avoid that route. You can talk to them if you like to see if you get lucky but I highly doubt it. The cop knows this. He doesn't care if you negotiate a lesser fine, guilty is guilty and he's done his job.

The idea I was trying to convey is to twofold:

1. Delay the convinction at least until after you've signed your insurance papers. That way your insurer will only see the two tickets you had from before.

2. Increase your chances of getting the charges dropped and, subsequently, saving you from an insurance premium increase at renewal time.

Requesting a trial date accomplishes both of the above.

[OpenGambit]

if you go to the prosecutor and tell him you were late for an exam... that sounds to me like you just admitted it... and gave a unsympathetic reason.

[VifferFun]

And what are the chances Ill get dropped from TD if they do find out?

I'm not really sure -- it could depend on many factors; however, 3 convictions on your record will definitely put you in the possible-to-not-renew category.