Professional Traffic Ticket Representation: Defending Major Charges Including Distracted Driving, Failing to Move Over, and More

Question: What should I do if I’m charged with a major traffic offence in Ontario and I’m worried about fines, demerit points, licence suspension, and insurance increases?

Answer: If you’re facing a serious Highway Traffic Act charge in Ontario, DefendCharges.ca can provide paralegal defence services by reviewing the disclosure, assessing potential penalties and collateral impacts like insurance and licence status, and helping you choose a practical strategy for resolution or trial.   Getting advice early can also help address aggravating factors like prior convictions, high demerit points, or job-related driving requirements before your court date.

Providing Strategic Defence Advocacy

Major charges, whether individually or when combined with other minor or other major offences, can lead to significantly higher insurance premiums. When paired with other charges or past convictions, there is also the risk of licence suspension due to an accumulation of demerit points, along with hefty fines. A thorough professional assessment of the potential consequences, the relevant facts and the applicable defence theories, is essential when dealing with a major driving offence charge.

Protecting Against Significant Consequences

Conviction for a major traffic offence typically results in substantial fines, mandatory surcharges, and significantly increased insurance premiums for a period of three years. If the driver has prior convictions, there may also be a risk of licence suspension, along with other potential penalties.

Factors Tending to Aggravate Penalties

The affects of conviction for a major driving offence can be significantly further aggravated:

• When a driver was previously convicted within the past three years on another charge;
• When a driver is on the cusp of having accumulated too many demerit points and this latest major charge now puts the driver at risk of a licence suspension, among other penalties; and
• When a driver is required to maintain a good driving record as a condition of employment.

Conclusion

Traffic tickets of the major charges type pose serious consequences involving substantial fines plus victim surcharges as well as demerit points that may be the straw that breaks the camel's back resulting in a license suspension.  Additionally, a major charge may result in substantially increased insurance rates including the potential for loss of access to standard insurance market and substitute placement into the highly priced Facility Association.

Accordingly, when charged with a major traffic ticket offence, hiring a professional who knows how to question witnesses, especially which questions to ask and which questions to avoid, and who knows the law, knows the paperwork processes and courtroom procedures, and knows how to make judicially persuasive arguments on the applicable legal principles, is highly important.