How to Fight a Red Light Ticket
Section 144(18) of the Highway Traffic Act, RSO 1990, c H.8 states: “Every driver approaching a traffic control signal showing a circular red indication, or red light and facing the indication shall stop his or her vehicle and shall not proceed until a green indication is shown.”
Ticket Shield is able to defend you against Red Light charges anywhere in Ontario. This is one of the most common charges issued under the Highway Traffic Act. It is a common misconception that amber (yellow) lights mean to “go faster” or make it through the light quickly. It does actually mean you have to stop if you can do so safely. On the other hand, Red Lights have no such stipulation. Regardless of speed, ice, snow, or rain, you are required to stop. The legal system refers to these offences as “absolute liability offences”. Essentially this means that there will be no option to explain the reason why you went through the red light – with few exceptions.
Penalty:
- Set Fine: $260.00 – $1000.00
- Demerit Points: 3
- CVOR Points: 5
Should I Fight a Red Light Ticket?
Most definitely. A Red Light ticket is a 3 demerit point offence. Not only can this affect your insurance premiums, if you accumulate enough demerit points, you could face suspension or lose your license completely. The success rate for fighting these tickets is very high. Factors such as whether or not there was an accident involved also play a significant role in the outcome.
Do Red Light Tickets Have Demerit Points?
A traditional Red Light ticket that is issued by a police officer carries 3 demerit point and will appear on your driving record. This can lead to a licence suspension and also means that it will likely impact your insurance rates. The only time a red light ticket does not have demerit points is when the ticket is issued by an automated camera system and sent to you in the mail.
How will Ticket Shield help you fight your Red Light Charge?
Ticket Shield spends the necessary time on your case with the purpose of eliminating the charges completely by having them withdrawn or dismissed. If this is not possible, we will negotiate with the prosecutors to shield your demerit points, protect your license from being suspended, negotiate for the lowest fine available, and ultimately, keep your insurance rates as low as possible.
Ticket Shield begins preparing your defence with requesting a disclosure pack from the prosecutors. We make a very specific request that requires them to provide the Police Officer’s notes, witness reports, radar manuals and calibration notes (if applicable), and any other relevant evidence that they plan to use against you. By obtaining these documents prior to your court date, we can review them with you if we have any questions, and prepare a defence based on all of the information.
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.
Are Red Light CAMERA Tickets Effect Insurance?
For anyone who has received one of these photo red light tickets in the mail, the question will immediately be whether the ticket has points and if it will impact insurance rates. At this time, the answer to this question is that it will not have points and typically does not impact insurance. Since the ticket is issued based on automated camera photos, the police have no way to know who was actually driving the vehicle, so the ticket is issued against the vehicle owner. For this reason, it will not appear on your driving record, so the insurance company would have no way to know about it unless you call and tell them about it. It is generally “just a fine”.
Similar to a Speeding Camera Ticket, we normally do not assist people with contesting these charges unless it was related to a commercial motor vehicle. The assumption is that the money you would spend hiring us is better used dealing with the fine since there are no points and typically no impact on insurance rates. If you have received one of these red light camera tickets and still think you may want representation for defending against the charge, feel free to contact us to discuss your options.
Do Red Light Camera tickets have CVOR points?
Interestingly, red camera tickets DO actually carry CVOR points. This means that if you are a commercial vehicle driver or manage a CVOR-rated company, then there may be a reason to contest one of these tickets. This is one of the rare scenarios where it will make sense to try to reduce the ticket and avoid the points.
The logic behind this is that CVOR ratings are based on general fleet safety and even though they do not know who was driving the vehicle, they can conclude that a company driving under a specific CVOR number did go through a red light, and thus they will apply CVOR points.
If you are a commercial driver or are a safety and compliance manager for a CVOR-rated company, Ticket Shield may be able to help.
You can contact Ticket Shield either by phone at 1-855-561-3699, through the website: here, or by texting us at 289-272-1957. You can normally expect a prompt (same business day) reply.
We generally use flat fees and would be happy to provide you with a quote for our services. This means you will have all of the information in advance and there will not be any worrying about any unexpected extra fees or expenses. We would encourage you to check out our How It Works page for more information about the process of hiring us if you are interested.
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