By Dan Joffe, lawyer at NextLaw (LSO #37145V) · Published October 14, 2026 · Last updated October 14, 2026 · Ontario, Canada
Short answer: Speeding ticket in Oshawa? The court got faster. Trial-day withdrawals barely moved. Oshawa tickets go to Durham Region’s provincial offences court in Whitby. According to NextLaw Analysis of Ontario Court of Justice data, a speeding ticket in Oshawa now reaches its trial date sooner than in most of Ontario: 87 days in the latest year, against 125 across Ontario (averages for all ticket offences, not speeding alone). But the share of speeding charges withdrawn on their trial date has barely moved: 24% from 2015 to 2019, 22% since 2023. So if you request a trial, the date comes quickly: ask for disclosure early, and make sure someone attends. The data can’t predict your insurance, but it shows what a trial request leads to.
Speeding ticket Oshawa: faster court, steady withdrawals
We analyzed eleven years of Ontario Court of Justice data, 2015 through March 2026, for speeding charges under Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act (section 128), what most people call a speeding ticket.
Oshawa speeding tickets are heard at the Durham Region Provincial Offences Court, at Regional Headquarters, 605 Rossland Road East in Whitby. That court handles provincial offences charges from across Durham Region, including Oshawa, Whitby, Ajax, Pickering and Clarington (Durham Region, court and traffic tickets). So the court data below covers the whole Durham court; it can’t be split by city.
For a speeding ticket in Oshawa, the court got faster while its trial-day withdrawals held. According to NextLaw Analysis of Ontario Court of Justice data, counting every provincial offence ticket, Durham’s court took 127 days to reach a trial date in 2019, and still 127 in 2024. In the latest year, April 2025 to March 2026, it took 87 days, against 125 across Ontario. Over the same years, the share of speeding charges withdrawn on their trial date barely moved: 24% from 2015 to 2019, and 22% from 2023 to March 2026.
| Measure | Period | Durham Region’s court | Ontario |
|---|---|---|---|
| Withdrawn on the trial date (share of speeding charges reaching one) | 2015–2019 | 24% | 22% |
| Withdrawn on the trial date (share of speeding charges reaching one) | 2023–March 2026 | 22% | 27% |
| Days to a trial date (all Part I tickets) | 2019 | 127 | 176 |
| Days to a trial date (all Part I tickets) | 2024 | 127 | Not compared |
| Days to a trial date (all Part I tickets) | April 2025–March 2026 | 87 | 125 |
Source: Ontario Court of Justice, Provincial Offences Court Statistics (2015–March 2026); analysis by NextLaw.
Before speed cameras, Durham sat in Ontario’s top fifth
According to NextLaw Analysis of Ontario Court of Justice data, from 2015 to 2019 Durham’s court withdrew 24% of the speeding charges that reached a trial date, on that date, against 22% across Ontario. It sat in the top fifth of Ontario’s courts on that measure in every one of those five years (year by year, 23% to 29%).
Since 2023, Ontario’s share climbed to 27% and passed Durham’s. Durham’s held between 21% and 23% in every recent period: 2023, 2024, 2025 and the latest twelve months. So the Durham court that once withdrew a bigger share on the trial date than Ontario as a whole now withdraws a smaller one, without changing much itself.
The wait for a trial date fell to 87 days
What changed is the wait. According to NextLaw Analysis of Ontario Court of Justice data, across all ticket types (all Part I offences, not speeding alone), a trial date at Durham’s court took 127 days in 2019, against 176 across Ontario. In 2024, it still took 127. In the latest year, April 2025 to March 2026, it took 87 days, against 125 across Ontario: sooner than in most of Ontario’s courts.
So the wait fell by 40 days in the most recent figures. These are court-wide averages; they describe the court’s pace, not the date printed on your own notice.
What the trial date looks like in Durham now
According to NextLaw Analysis of the same data, here is how Durham speeding charges that reached a trial date from 2023 to March 2026 ended on that day:
- 43% ended in a guilty plea that day (Ontario 42%). A plea on the trial date can be a plea to a lower speed, so this is not a loss rate.
- 22% were withdrawn that day (Ontario 27%). The reason for a withdrawal is not recorded.
- 22% ended in a conviction because no one appeared (Ontario 21%). Hold this one loosely: it is the measure most exposed to camera-era trial requests from vehicle owners.
- 12% went to a full trial (Ontario 10%). Trial verdicts are not recorded.
Durham’s trial date looks much like Ontario’s, with one difference: a smaller share of charges withdrawn on the day.
What the Durham court data can’t show
These figures count charges, not drivers. They can’t tell us why any charge was withdrawn, or whether a guilty plea meant a reduced speed. They cover the whole Durham court, so they can’t separate Oshawa tickets from Whitby, Ajax, Pickering or Clarington tickets. And they describe the court, not your odds.
Our read: Durham’s trial-day withdrawals aren’t a delay effect
Our read at NextLaw is this: Durham’s trial-day withdrawals aren’t a product of delay. The wait fell by 40 days and the rate held, so they most likely turn on the evidence on the day, including whether the officer is there to give it. That is our interpretation of the pattern; the data doesn’t record why any charge was withdrawn.
The practical point: a faster court leaves less time to get ready, so the steps you take after asking for a trial matter more, not less.
Across Ontario, trial-date withdrawals rose over the same years; our Ontario court data on the trial date sets out the province-wide picture Durham is measured against here. Mississauga’s court is another where trial-date withdrawals held steady; our Mississauga court data on speeding tickets covers it.
Your three choices in the first 15 days
Durham gives you 15 days to choose (Durham Region, court and traffic tickets):
- Pay it. Paying is a guilty plea, and the conviction is registered.
- Ask for an early resolution meeting. In Durham, this is a meeting with a prosecutor, requested online (Ontario, check a ticket or request a meeting), where the prosecutor may agree to a lower speed. It is not a hearing before a justice of the peace.
- Request a trial. You plead not guilty, and the charge goes to a trial date at the Durham court in Whitby.
Let the 15 days pass, and a conviction can be entered without you (Provincial Offences Act, section 9).
If you request a trial in Durham
If you request a trial, the date comes quickly, so ask for disclosure as soon as the notice arrives. Disclosure is the prosecution’s evidence against you. Durham’s Prosecution Services provides it free of charge, and you can request it online (Durham Region, Prosecution Services).
Then make sure you, or someone for you, attends. Durham runs hybrid court: you can appear in person, or by phone or video on Zoom, unless a justice of the peace orders otherwise (Durham Region, court appearances). A defendant may also appear by a representative (Provincial Offences Act, section 50(1)).
After having spoke with them, they sure set my mind at ease. They went to court for me and updated me with my case every step of the way.
A plea to a lower speed can reduce or remove demerit points, but it doesn’t erase the conviction. The insurance effect depends on the tier crossed and your insurer’s rules; our guide to how a speeding ticket could affect your insurance in Ontario covers that side.
If you are deciding who to bring in, our guide on whether you need a lawyer or a paralegal for a speeding ticket in Ontario sets out the difference, and our guide on how to fight a speeding ticket in Ontario walks through the steps.
Got a speeding ticket in Ontario? Don’t pay it yet. Not every ticket is worth fighting. But every ticket is worth checking. Our free insurance calculator asks 7 quick questions to see how much your insurance could go up. Get your number first. Then, if it makes sense, book a free call for a straight answer.
How the camera years were handled
Speed cameras operated in Ontario from July 2020 until they were banned on November 14, 2025 (Bill 56). Camera tickets were issued to the vehicle owner, carried no demerit points and never touched a driving record. Because they distorted how many tickets were issued and how many were simply paid, this analysis uses the five camera-free years, 2015 to 2019, for those measures, confirmed against the first post-ban months of 2026. It uses the most recent three years only for what happens on the day of trial, where camera tickets almost never reached.
Durham Region stopped using its automated speed enforcement cameras on November 14, 2025 (Durham Region, court appearances). A check on the trial-date figures: Durham’s recent trial docket, the speeding charges reaching a trial date from 2023 to March 2026, is 0.7 times its pre-camera size (Ontario: 0.8 times). Camera tickets did not swell the trial docket. Durham’s withdrawals before the trial date in 2022 to 2024, which include camera-era administrative withdrawals, are left out of this analysis.
Quick answers
How can I pay a speeding ticket in Oshawa?
Not through the City of Oshawa’s portal, which is for parking and by-law penalties. Pay Durham Region’s court office online at paytickets.ca, by phone (905-668-3130 or 1-866-779-8839), by mail, or in person in Whitby (Durham Region, court and traffic tickets). Paying is a guilty plea, so the conviction is recorded.
How much does a speeding ticket cost in Ontario?
It depends on the speed. At 20 over, the set fine is $75, or $95 with the victim fine surcharge and court costs, plus 3 demerit points. The fine is often the smaller cost: a conviction could raise your insurance at renewal. Our guide to how much a speeding ticket costs in Ontario goes through the other speed ranges.
Do you still have to pay camera speeding tickets in Ontario?
Yes, for tickets issued before the ban. Durham’s cameras stopped on November 14, 2025, and the Region says outstanding camera tickets must still be paid or disputed. A camera ticket carries no demerit points. An officer’s ticket can.
About NextLaw
NextLaw is a speeding ticket law firm based in Toronto, representing drivers in every court in Ontario, including the Durham Region Provincial Offences Court in Whitby. This article was written by Dan Joffe, lawyer at NextLaw (Law Society of Ontario #37145V). Services by licensed lawyer and licensed paralegals at NextLaw. For speeding ticket inquiries, call 647-558-2679. Court statistics current as of March 2026. This covers ordinary Ontario speeding under the Highway Traffic Act, not stunt driving, and it is general information, not legal advice about your specific case.
