How to fight driving with a suspended license Ontario (WARNING – Don’t do this)
- Most people will want to fight their driving with a suspended license charge in Ontario because the penalties are severe.
- In this video, I will cover what you should NOT do when fighting your driving with a suspended license charge in Ontario. And, this has to do with defences.
___________
✅ Take our free Drive Suspend Penalty Test
___________
- There are valid defences that you can use when fighting your Driving While Under Suspension charge in Ontario.
- However, most “excuses” are NOT legal defences.
- And, you shouldn’t use those excuses thinking you’re going to beat the charge because you won’t.
- Here are the 6 most common excuses that will not beat your driving with a suspended license charge in Ontario.
Excuse #1 – “I did not know my driver’s license was suspended.”- No, this is NOT a defence.
- You may NOT have known that your driver’s license was suspended. And the logic behind this excuse goes that you would NOT have driven if you knew about your license suspension.
- Now, you’re supposed to get notice of your suspension from the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.
- However, you may legitimately have not received the notice. Maybe you moved. Or, didn’t get your mail. Or, someone picked up your notice and didn’t give it to you.
- Unfortunately, it does NOT matter whether you GOT the notice. The Prosecutor only needs to prove that the notice of your driving suspension was generated.
- Yes, this is frustrating. And, people are angry that this is the law. There have been some media reports about this issue of notice. Changes may be coming, but they are not yet the law. And you shouldn’t use this excuse.
Excuse #2 – “I can’t lose my driver’s license for 6-months.” - I have to drive for work … I have to drive for my family … I have to drive for medical reasons … And, losing my driver’s license for 6-months will be devastating. I will lose everything.”
- No, this is NOT a defence.
- Yes, you may have to drive for work. Or for your family. Or for medical reasons. And losing your driver’s license can be devastating to your personal and work life.
- However, the penalties for Driving While Under Suspension are severe for a reason.
- The lawmakers want to send a message to the public that you have to follow the road rules.
- And if you don’t follow the rules, which include the requirement that you always have a valid driver’s license, you will face severe consequences, including the mandatory 6-month driving suspension.
Excuse #3 – “A conviction on driving while under suspension will increase my insurance premiums and make it impossible for me to drive.”- No, this is NOT a defence.
- See the logic from Excuse #2.
Excuse #4 – “I knew my license was suspended, but I drove only because I had an emergency.”- No, this is NOT a defence.
- Again, see the logic from Excuse #2.
Excuse #5 – “I had my license suspended because I forgot to pay a SMALL ticket. And, the 6-month suspension for such a small ticket is not fair.”- Again, this is NOT a defence.
- The fact that the ticket that suspended you was a small dollar amount does not matter legally.
- The lawmakers want to send a strong message that you are responsible for paying all tickets and that if you don’t, they will suspend your driver’s license regardless of the fine amount.
Excuse #6 – “I didn’t commit a crime (I just made a mistake). The penalties are not fair.”- No, this is not a defence.
- While you are correct that you did not commit a crime under the Criminal Code of Canada, driving with a suspended license is an offence under the Highway Traffic Act of Ontario with severe penalties.
- I have to drive for work … I have to drive for my family … I have to drive for medical reasons … And, losing my driver’s license for 6-months will be devastating. I will lose everything.”
- No, this is NOT a defence.
- Yes, you may have to drive for work. Or for your family. Or for medical reasons. And losing your driver’s license can be devastating to your personal and work life.
- However, the penalties for Driving While Under Suspension are severe for a reason.
- The lawmakers want to send a message to the public that you have to follow the road rules.
- And if you don’t follow the rules, which include the requirement that you always have a valid driver’s license, you will face severe consequences, including the mandatory 6-month driving suspension.
Excuse #3 – “A conviction on driving while under suspension will increase my insurance premiums and make it impossible for me to drive.”- No, this is NOT a defence.
- See the logic from Excuse #2.
Excuse #4 – “I knew my license was suspended, but I drove only because I had an emergency.”- No, this is NOT a defence.
- Again, see the logic from Excuse #2.
Excuse #5 – “I had my license suspended because I forgot to pay a SMALL ticket. And, the 6-month suspension for such a small ticket is not fair.”- Again, this is NOT a defence.
- The fact that the ticket that suspended you was a small dollar amount does not matter legally.
- The lawmakers want to send a strong message that you are responsible for paying all tickets and that if you don’t, they will suspend your driver’s license regardless of the fine amount.
Excuse #6 – “I didn’t commit a crime (I just made a mistake). The penalties are not fair.”- No, this is not a defence.
- While you are correct that you did not commit a crime under the Criminal Code of Canada, driving with a suspended license is an offence under the Highway Traffic Act of Ontario with severe penalties.
- No, this is NOT a defence.
- Again, see the logic from Excuse #2.
Excuse #5 – “I had my license suspended because I forgot to pay a SMALL ticket. And, the 6-month suspension for such a small ticket is not fair.”- Again, this is NOT a defence.
- The fact that the ticket that suspended you was a small dollar amount does not matter legally.
- The lawmakers want to send a strong message that you are responsible for paying all tickets and that if you don’t, they will suspend your driver’s license regardless of the fine amount.
Excuse #6 – “I didn’t commit a crime (I just made a mistake). The penalties are not fair.”- No, this is not a defence.
- While you are correct that you did not commit a crime under the Criminal Code of Canada, driving with a suspended license is an offence under the Highway Traffic Act of Ontario with severe penalties.
- No, this is not a defence.
- While you are correct that you did not commit a crime under the Criminal Code of Canada, driving with a suspended license is an offence under the Highway Traffic Act of Ontario with severe penalties.
