I just got the most ridiculous ticket

[btimbit]

As long as you're not the guy arguing with the registry people about tickets that they can't do anything about when I'm in line behind

[81MC]

Oh totally my fault. Absolutely being a stubborn ####### cost me an additional $116 va if I had just paid them when I got them. Moral of the story, pay your tickets.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by 81MC

Moral of the story, pay your tickets fight your tickets before the default judgement date.

There we go.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by Red

You can plead not guilty and you will be given a court date. You can't negotiate the fine anymore though.
I got a ticket last July, had a court date set in December but the courts were closed. I emailed them as per their instructions on the website and ended up having to plead not guilty over email.
I was mailed a court date later on, like a couple months after. It's actually coming up in a couple weeks.
I'm hoping the courts close again and they just cancel the ticket. But if not, I am gonna go and hope the cop is a no show. If all fails I will just change me plea there and pay the fine.

I negotiated the fine/demerits over email last year.

[Frequitude]

***Bump***

So I just got an expired registration ticket mailed to me. It is valid (A month overdue. I forgot to renew since I haven’t really driven over Covid so didn’t think to check and they don’t mail you anymore.). No photo attached or anything. Just a letter written in comic sans briefly detailing the officer’s observation with a yellow ticket stapled to it.

I fall firmly in the “you broke the law, pay up” camp in these type of threads, but this feels particularly absurd. There was no pullover. Just this letter. I want to fight it purely on the basis that this is a ridiculous law enforcement method.

Am I totally off base here or do I have any recommended reasonable recourse?

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Isn't that a better method than pulling you over? Either way you get the ticket but this way you aren't inconvenienced in the interim.

[jayswin]

I Still remember not registering for 8 months in my stupider days. The cop followed me to the registry and allowed me to register then and there. For posters like macman making claims that I'm anti police despite knowing four CPS officers, yes, I do really appreciate Calgary police and this was another example of them going above and beyond, as that is an easy ticket to give and totally justified.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Yep, I did that once too. I think they saw I was so shocked - I legitimately thought I'd renewed it - that they just said "alright, go get it done today and you're fine." I didn't even have my wallet (and hence my license) on me when they pulled me over either, could have been a mess.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Yep, I did that once too. I think they saw I was so shocked - I legitimately thought I'd renewed it - that they just said "alright, go get it done today and you're fine." I didn't even have my wallet (and hence my license) on me when they pulled me over either, could have been a mess.

I wish I could say I was shocked, but I spent every snow day in winter scraping my car but leaving the sticker on the bottom of licence plate covered, lol.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Yep, I did that once too. I think they saw I was so shocked - I legitimately thought I'd renewed it - that they just said "alright, go get it done today and you're fine." I didn't even have my wallet (and hence my license) on me when they pulled me over either, could have been a mess.

Jesus, yeah you definitely got a good cop that day. That could have hit the pocketbook with a jerk or a newbie.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

***Bump***

So I just got an expired registration ticket mailed to me. It is valid (A month overdue. I forgot to renew since I haven’t really driven over Covid so didn’t think to check and they don’t mail you anymore.). No photo attached or anything. Just a letter written in comic sans briefly detailing the officer’s observation with a yellow ticket stapled to it.

I fall firmly in the “you broke the law, pay up” camp in these type of threads, but this feels particularly absurd. There was no pullover. Just this letter. I want to fight it purely on the basis that this is a ridiculous law enforcement method.

Am I totally off base here or do I have any recommended reasonable recourse?

The first reason you should fight it is the entire concept of plates that expire is ridiculous. Saskatchewan has had permanent plates for I think around 10 years. Alberta is also will finally transition this fall to the permanent plate system.

Also there is the secondary function of getting you to correct the situation as a result of getting the ticket which was completely missed. So instead of the officer correcting a situation he believed (or the law believes) is worthy of a fine he let the offender continue. So it’s either fine to let it continue or it requires enforcement.

I’d fight the ticket. The entire thing is ridiculous and in 3-4 months won’t be a law anymore.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by GGG

The first reason you should fight it is the entire concept of plates that expire is ridiculous. Saskatchewan has had permanent plates for I think around 10 years. Alberta is also will finally transition this fall to the permanent plate system.

Also there is the secondary function of getting you to correct the situation as a result of getting the ticket which was completely missed. So instead of the officer correcting a situation he believed (or the law believes) is worthy of a fine he let the offender continue. So it’s either fine to let it continue or it requires enforcement.

I’d fight the ticket. The entire thing is ridiculous and in 3-4 months won’t be a law anymore.

They got rid of renewal stickers in January. You still need to renew your registration every year.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by GGG

The first reason you should fight it is the entire concept of plates that expire is ridiculous. Saskatchewan has had permanent plates for I think around 10 years. Alberta is also will finally transition this fall to the permanent plate system.

Also there is the secondary function of getting you to correct the situation as a result of getting the ticket which was completely missed. So instead of the officer correcting a situation he believed (or the law believes) is worthy of a fine he let the offender continue. So it’s either fine to let it continue or it requires enforcement.

I’d fight the ticket. The entire thing is ridiculous and in 3-4 months won’t be a law anymore.

What? Dude, I think you have bad info or misinterpreted the new changes. Its the stickers they're getting rid of, not renewing your license. You think a provincial government would suddenly give up $85 a person per year?

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by jayswin

I Still remember not registering for 8 months in my stupider days.

For me, my stupider days were last year. I had signed up for automatic registration renewal, so I thought I was in the clear. I forgot that the one car I didn't do so, as I paid for 2 years of registration when I bought it.

The cop was really nice and mentioned if it had been a month he'd have warned me, but 8 months was too far. He should have given me a speeding ticket too and just mentioned he "noticed me having too much fun on the on-ramp" and that's why he ran my plate.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by jayswin

What? Dude, I think you have bad info or misinterpreted the new changes. Its the stickers they're getting rid of, not renewing your license. You think a provincial government would suddenly give up $85 a person per year?

Yeah, so an officer can’t visually see an expired plate and give you a ticket and with an automated renewal process so you never have to think about it again. They also shouldn’t be able to run your plate without cause so can’t just randomly check for registration compliance.

The entire problem is caused by a yearly tax that should be automated.

[Frequitude]

Are there ways to fight tickets remotely? I don’t live in Calgary right now and was just down for a week. I don’t plan to be back on the specified court date.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by GGG

Yeah, so an officer can’t visually see an expired plate and give you a ticket and with an automated renewal process so you never have to think about it again. They also shouldn’t be able to run your plate without cause so can’t just randomly check for registration compliance.

The entire problem is caused by a yearly tax that should be automated.

This would be news to me as I've been told that cops can and do run plates all the time while waiting in traffic.

[speede5]

Originally Posted by GGG

The first reason you should fight it is the entire concept of plates that expire is ridiculous. Saskatchewan has had permanent plates for I think around 10 years. Alberta is also will finally transition this fall to the permanent plate system.

Also there is the secondary function of getting you to correct the situation as a result of getting the ticket which was completely missed. So instead of the officer correcting a situation he believed (or the law believes) is worthy of a fine he let the offender continue. So it’s either fine to let it continue or it requires enforcement.

I’d fight the ticket. The entire thing is ridiculous and in 3-4 months won’t be a law anymore.

We have permanent (they call it continuous) plates/insurance but you still have to renew once a year or whenever your term expires. Funny thing is if you are on continuous, it keeps taking payments til you cancel, so you can be completely insured and still get a ticket for being unregistered. It's a pain because it is very easy to forget since the payments are still coming out of your account.

The police have scanners on most of their vehicles now and there is no grace whatsoever. $675 fine on the spot, and funnily most people have the car re-registered on their phone by the time the ticket is written.

[EldrickOnIce]

I like what the state did here, allowing a grace period due to Covid restrictions. My illinois license/vehicle registration expired in January. I just renewed it last week, as anyone's who has expired dating back into sometime last year has until August 31 to renew.
Can't blame a police officer for doing their job. The province could have easily made allowances in these special circumstances. Not every person (though everyone here probably is!) capable/comfortable with renewing online.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by jayswin

This would be news to me as I've been told that cops can and do run plates all the time while waiting in traffic.

Your right I was confusing pulling you over without cause. The license plate is in full view therefore not considered “private info”