Speeding Tickets

[Kilroy]

20k over in a 60k zone is a bad idea, especially out of province.

If you are at all over the limit you can get a ticket. Officers get to use discression and nail people who rub them the wrong way with the max for any violation. Don't let it suprise you no matter how small your offence and appreciate it when they cut you some slack. They are doing important work.

[jonf]

20k over in a 60k zone is a bad idea, especially out of province.

If you are at all over the limit you can get a ticket. Officers get to use discression and nail people who rub them the wrong way with the max for any violation. Don't let it suprise you no matter how small your offence and appreciate it when they cut you some slack. They are doing important work.

Ya, we got nailed once in New Brunswick trying to catch a ferry. We had decided to take a back route rather than sticking to the main highway, and the speed limit was 80 or 90. anyway...my mom had been driving along forever and then suddenly there we passed three houses. We turn around a corner and go under a bridge, and sure enough, a cop pulls out, and had us clocked going about 85 in a 50. My mom must have just missed the speed limit sign...the residential area was literally no more than a couple hundred metres, but that was enough to get a hefty ticket. Mr New Brunswick policeman was not pleased about having Ontarians speed through his town.

[dhacker1956]

A couple years ago, I had was coming home early in the morning from my girlfriends (now my wife), and I got a flat tire. That put me a little late for my company golf tourny, so I admit I was going a little faster than I normally would have. It was 8:00 am on a Saturday morning on the Linc in Hamilton. The Linc is a 2 lane split highway that should have a speed limit of 100, but it's only 90. I was doing 126.

The cop wouldn't budge. 36 over, got me a $270 fine plus 3 points. On my ticket, there was an "arrange a meeting with the prosecuting attorney, and plead guilty" option (something to that effect). I hadn't had a ticket in the previous 10 years, but the attorney would only drop it to 26 over, but that got it to $120 and 2 points.

This is where is get's worse. About 8 months later, I rear end someone. Totally my fault...I wasn't paying attention, and I creamed this lady in front of me. I got charged with following too closely, and an "at-fault" accident. About 6 months later, as my insurance is up for renewal, I get a letter in the mail saying my insurance company is denying me insurance and dropping me as a customer. They cited the rules that they can exercise this rule if you have 2 motor vehicle infractions (my speeding ticket and my following too closely), and 1 at fault accident.

For the following two years (could have been three - I've tried to wipe this scar from my memory banks and it's working), I could only get insured by high risk insurers at a rate of $4500/year. I was 34 with just the two tickets in the previous 17 years. I am not a "high risk" driver. Pure baloney. From time and a clean record, I'm back to normal rates again.

I will say this.... if the penalties are intended to slow people down.... it worked on me. If the rules for dropping someone are still consistent with only two traffic violations and one at fault accident, you really can't afford to get even one speeding ticket. Accidents happen. You never can predict when it's going to happen, they just do. So what do you have control over? Obviously, your speed. If you keep it under the "typical 15-20 over" range, you're not likely to get a ticket anywhere. Had I not been speeding, I could be easy $8000 richer today.

This is where I got the quote!