How to fight driving with a suspended license Ontario
Part 2: Suspended because unpaid fine- How do you fight a driving with a suspended license charge in Ontario?
- This article is Part 2 of an important topic because the penalties for driving with a suspended license in Ontario are severe.
- They include a mandatory 6-month driving suspension. And, in some cases, it can result in jail time.
- You should read Part 1, where I cover the situation where you did not know your driver’s license was suspended. You can read Part 1 here:
- In this article, I will cover what WON’T work when fighting your driving with a suspended license charge in Ontario.
- And that is, “your license was suspended because of a small fine that you forgot to pay. And getting this serious charge for such a minor ticket is not fair.”
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✅ Take our free Drive Suspend Penalty Test
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✅ Book a free, confidential meeting with lawyer, Dan Joffe
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- We have been retained by a lot of clients that find themselves in this situation.
- Here’s generally how clients end up in this predicament.
- The Police gave you a small ticket. Usually, it’s a speeding ticket or ticket for a seatbelt violation or some other minor infraction under the Highway Traffic Act.
- You get the ticket, you’re annoyed, and you decide to either fight the ticket, or maybe you’ll pay it in a few weeks.
- And then you forget. And forgetting is understandable because the infraction was so small. We all lead busy lives and paying that small ticket was not on the top of your to-do list.
- But forgetting is a big problem. And here’s why.
- Under the Highway Traffic Act, if you don’t pay your fine within the prescribed period, the Ministry of Transportation can and will suspend your driver’s license.
- And the fact that the ticket was for a minor infraction or a small dollar amount does not legally matter. The Ministry of Transportation’s computer systems will trigger a license suspension.
- And what makes this problem even worse is that you may not have received notice of your suspension. In other words, you don’t even know you’re driving while suspended.
- Until that is, the Police pull you over and charge you with driving with a suspended license.
- Your driving with a suspended license charge will NOT go away because the charge originated from a minor infraction or small fine.
- Yes, this is frustrating. But it’s the law.
