Driving While Under Suspension

Fighting Driving While Under Suspension

Driving While Suspended is one of the more serious offences in the Highway Traffic Act.  The charge is issued when a driver operates a motor vehicle while their licence is under suspension.  There are a number of reasons why someone might have a suspended licence.  The penalties for this offence are extremely significant, but if the case is handled properly, there is a lot that can be done to mitigate them. 

What is Driving While Suspended?

It is always important to look at the actual law.  Section 53(1) of the Highway Traffic Act, RSO 1990, c H.8 states: “Every person who drives a motor vehicle or street car on a highway while his or her driver’s licence is suspended under an Act of the Legislature or a regulation made thereunder is guilty of an offence.”  Essentially, if you are operating a motor vehicle and it is determined your licence is suspended, the police will charge you with the offence.

Why is my driver’s licence suspended?

There are a number of possible reasons why your Ontario driver’s licence may be suspended.  These reasons include:

1. Failure to pay a fine
2. Accumulating too many Demerit Points
3. Being convicted of a novice licence (G1 or G2) violation
4. Medial reasons
5. Stunt Driving, Racing or Excessive Speeding
6. A prior conviction of Driving While Suspended
7. A court-ordered suspension relating to a traffic or criminal offence.
8. Failure to pay family support (FRO)

What is the penalty for Driving While Under Suspension?

 The penalty for Driving With a Suspended Licence is as follows:

• Minimum Fine: $1000.00 + surcharge of 25%
• Maximum Fine: $5,000.00 + surcharge of 25%
• Fines double for subsequent offences
• An automatic/mandatory 6-month licence suspension starting after the current suspension ends
• A jail sentence of up to 6 months
• Classified as a “serious” offence by most insurance companies, meaning you would require “high risk” insurance
• Possible vehicle impoundment depending on the reason for the suspension

Will Driving While Suspended affect my insurance rates?

Absolutely. Driving While Under Suspension is considered as a “serious” offence by insurance companies. This generally means you will be classified as “high risk”.  If you are convicted of Driving While Suspended, your insurance will be affected for 3 years or more.  Even a single conviction of Driving While Suspended can cause your insurance rates to double, triple, or trigger a complete cancellation of your policy.

How can I fight a Driving While Suspended ticket?

As with any charge you are accused of, the first thing to investigate is whether there are any avenues to have the ticket dismissed or withdrawn entirely.  Only in situations where there is no reasonable option to eliminate the charge should you even consider a negotiated reduction instead.  Given the severity of this offence, even a large reduction can still mean you are left with a serious conviction on your record.

As explained above, the charge has a variety of different reasons why your licence might be suspended. These are often treated differently.  The officer and prosecutor will need to determine whether the suspension was valid and whether correct protocol was followed.  In some cases, the prosecutor may not be able to do this.  It is critical that you understand whether your particular case is “winnable” at trial and what your odds of success are.  With so much on the line, you would not want to find out after the trial is over that your case was not as strong as you thought or that you missed a crucial argument that would have made a difference.  It would be too late.  This is why contacting Ticket Shield will ensure that you understand your options and the potential risks.

Similarly, if you end up deciding that a negotiated reduction (plea deal) is a better option for you, it is critical that you understand what you are agreeing to.  Depending on the reason behind the charge, a number of different reductions may be possible.  We have handled thousands of similar cases and can provide you with the experience and insight required to know if you are really getting the “best” the prosecutor is willing to offer.TEXT YOUR TICKET

What is a defence for Driving While Suspended?

Generally Driving While Suspended charges only require the prosecutor to prove that you:

1) had a suspended licence

2) received notice or should have known about the suspension

3) were driving a vehicle. 

There are sometimes opportunities to contest all of these points. In some instances, it is possible to prove that the driver should not have been suspended or was not suspended at all.  The MTO and police officer can make mistakes.  If you do not think your licence should have been suspended, this is a good place to start.  Call the MTO, find out if your licence was suspended and if it is, ask them why.  It will be important to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.

They are required to prove that you were properly notified about the suspension.  In some instances, they can assume you were notified by token of the fact that you received an unrelated ticket and never paid the fine.  A notice of suspension should be mailed to your address, but the prosecutor will likely argue that you should have known about the fine since the officer physically handed you a ticket.  Something like a medical suspension can be a little less obvious.  If a medical professional decided to submit licence suspension forms because of a medical condition, they are not always forthcoming about this.  It is entirely possible that they did not notify you, and perhaps the notice of suspension was never received in the mail.  There may be avenues to make an argument about this which you should discuss with us.

Finally, they need to prove you were operating a vehicle.  In most instances, you will be stopped while driving, so it is not difficult for them to prove, but in some cases, they only have suspicion that you were driving.  For example, maybe they found your vehicle outside a store and they are assuming you must have driven there.  They will normally need better “proof” than this.  If you have reason to believe that the officer may not have actually witnessed you driving, this is something you should discuss with a Ticket Shield representative.

Ticket Shield has dealt with thousands of similar cases and would be pleased to offer you our insight and experience to properly defend against this serious charge.  We take great pride in the fantastic results we frequently see with these cases

Is Driving While Suspended a criminal offence?

No.  Driving While Suspended under section 53(1) of the Highway Traffic Act is not a criminal offence.  This means that you will not be given a criminal record even if you are found guilty of the charge.  That said, the penalties are still very significant and can involve a jail sentence, licence suspension or dramatically increased insurance rates.  It can have serious implications for employment and your future. There are similar offences that can be issued under the Criminal Code of Canada like Driving While Disqualified or Driving While Prohibited. If you have been charged with one of these, you should contact us to discuss the implications.

How do I get my licence back?

If you are suspended right now, you first need to determine the reason for the suspension, and then resolve it.  This may mean paying a fine, complying with an order, or clearing a medical suspension.  Regardless of the reason, you would need to have the suspension lifted before being able to reinstate your licence.  Driving While Suspended includes an automatic 6-month licence suspension that begins immediately upon conviction.  To get your licence back, you will need to go to a Service Ontario (MTO) office once the suspension is over and pay a $281.00 reinstatement fee.  They will issue a temporary licence and a replacement plastic licence will be mailed to you.

How do I get my vehicle out of impound?

Sometimes your vehicle will be impounded at roadside for Driving While Suspended.  There is usually a 45 day impound if the reason for your suspension is related to a criminal conviction for example.  Other reasons can include a 7 day suspension for non-payment of family support, blood alcohol over the legal limit or driving a vehicle without ignition interlock when one is required. Find out more.  To get your vehicle back, you will need to go to the impound lot once the impound period is over and pay the required towing and impound fees.  The cost of these fees fluctuates greatly depending on the tow company and can be quite unpredictable.  If you feel like these fees are unreasonably high or exploitative, feel free to contact us for our thoughts on what your options are.

Unfortunately, there is typically no way to get around the vehicle impound, even if it is someone else’s vehicle or a rental.  The one exception to this is if the vehicle has been proven to be stolen. 

How will Ticket Shield help you fight your Driving Under Suspension charge?

Ticket Shield is able to defend you against Driving While Under Suspension charges anywhere in Ontario.  With most cases, the charge has been issued because the driver of a motor vehicle is found to be driving with their licence under suspension for one of the reasons discussed above.  We always aim to eliminate the charge entirely, but if that is not possible, we can normally negotiate a favorable outcome and avoid most of the very serious penalties.  We understand that your insurance rates could double or triple, which will cost you thousands of dollars.  This is something we hope to help you avoid.

Ticket Shield begins preparing your customized defence strategy as soon as we are hired.  If you would like more detail about the process of hiring us, please check out our “How It Works” page.  We know that you will be impressed with what we are able to do for you.

We are available to speak with you for a FREE consultation at 1-855-561-3699 toll-free, email us at [email protected] OR Request a quote online: Here.

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