Should I dispute this ticket?
 

Hey revscene,

I got a ticket last night for not having my front plate mounted. Being from Alberta, where we didn't have front plates, I didn't know that it was illegal to not have it mounted here in BC.

Would that reasoning be a fair defense to dispute the ticket? Or should I just pay for the ticket? The officer did give me a bit of grace by not charging me for having the plate on my dash, so I'd really appreciate any feedback.

Thanks in advance!

so do you or do you not have a front plate? (whether it is mounted or not)

from what i understand from the second paragraph, you have a front plate behind the front windshield?

don't quote me, but from what i remember, in BC, if you were given two plates, you have to mount both.

ignorance is not a valid defence

I have the front plate but I didn't mount it because I didn't have any screws to secure it on my bumper.over time I have seen some who stick the plate behind the windshield so I did that. I didn't know that it was illegal doing this since I only moved to Vancouver this year

^ ya dude dispute it for sure what do u have to lose?

Well. My dispute is mostly just simpathy if the decide to waive the ticket. If I pay its 84. If I dispute then its 109 and if I'm unlucky they'll tack on the fine for having it behind my windshield?

If you're innocent I'd say dispute. If you were issued a front plate and it wasn't properly mounted on the front of the vehicle then I'd say don't dispute. Pay early and get the discount, no points go on your license.

Seriously, why do you even bother posting?

What does he have to lose? Oh I don't know, the officer not cutting him a break? Issuing the harsher of the two possible tickets? The JPP tacking on more penalties/fines for wasting the courts time?

just pay the ticket dont waste your time man, traffic cops here are mostly dicks, some are nice but most of them are goofs.
I had my plate mounted on my grille clearly visible ok'd by 2 bike cops on separate occasions and one road block, only to have some power tripping cop who also falsely accused me of speeding give me a ticket for it drag me to court and win the case because he told the judge it was "his professional opinion after doing the job for 20 years that the plate should be on the front of the bumper"


I didnt wanna take any shit that day from nobody so I tell the judge "how am i supposed to follow the rules when each police officer seemingly has their own interpretation of it, i do something one cop thinks is legal only to have another one tell me it's not"


the judge actually said sorry you have gotten some mixed messages, but he ended up siding with the cop, there was about a dozen people in the court house and i wasnt naive enough to think for one second he would side with me, no matter how good my argument was...

if i cant win that ticket, no way can you win yours, best you can hope for is a reduction, or that the cop doesnt show up to court and you get it wiped

They almost ALWAYS cut you a break.
If you plead guilty that is.
Plus the police officer might not even show up.

So why wouldnt you dispute it?

Well I got stopped at the Georgia bridge road block last night and it all happened pretty quickly I couldn't even think fast enough to explain to him. I feel I might have avoided the ticket possibly by explaining but I'm afraid that if I dispute, I might lose and get the other fine tacked on and the discount wont apply anymore

Plate must be unobstructed and clearly visible. Mounted inside a grille back behind a bumper would not be as clearly visible as one mounted in the proper bracket on the front of the front bumper?

As far as coming from Alberta goes, did your vehicle pass an inspection when you came to BC? Did you not notice that all other legally equipped vehicles had front plates on them? Did they not sell you two plates? Did the instructions tell you to mount the valtag on the rear plate? Those would be questions you would likely be asked in a trial. As far as throwing it on the front dash goes...illegal because it is not securely fastened to the front of the vehicle...and it is obstructed...and you have a lovely sharp-edged razor all set to go flying around inside your car on a sharp corner, sudden strop or a crash. All in all, not a good idea. Need a bracket, visit a junkyard...lot cheaper than a dealers and a ticket.

I think sticking the plate on the dash is silly and I proudly display my Olympic plate on my front bumper, but zulu, how many collisions have you attended where someone has been injured by the dash mounted licence plate?

What? You confused little guy! I have never heard of anyone getting a harsher fine by going to court.. although this truly depends on your dispute and circumstance but usually you never get a harsher fine. Dont forget this is traffic court...

Plus you must be retarded for thinking the judge will give u more penalties/fines for showing up in court and trying ur chances in a dispute regardless of the case.

Your not the only one in court that day... Anyway that being said, the cop will usually talk to u prior court it self and maybe set a deal with you. Second once your in court you may plead guilty for what ever reasons or fight it if you believe u have a chance. The judge will usually give u less with a possible smaller fine and more time to pay it.

So i guess CRS why do u bother posting if you dont know jack shit and try to prove invalid points without any knowledge . Enjoy your day!:thumbsup:

Wow, are you still talking?

You clearly have no idea how the court system works. If you knew anything about the traffic court system, you would know it isn't a judge. It is a justice of peace of whom you will address as your worship.

And yeah, you're right about something. You'll talk to the officer who issued you the ticket. He will then review his notes and see that he gave the lesser of two sentences and oh, I don't know. Might cancel the more lenient one and give you the harsher one.

There is a minimum for each ticket and most of the time, if the officer gave you a less one, he most likely give you the minimum as well. So right there, you are pissing away the $25 for early payment. There is NOTHING the JP can do in this case in terms of giving you a lesser fine. It is only an extension of payment that they can provide but at this point, who cares when you have to pay more.

Good job, jackass. Keep proving advice on a subject you know nothing about. :thumbsup:

Oh, you added more to your post. I read it and then when i was quoting, I thought i was tripping out when it looked longer lol.

In this case, the officer told me that i could have been penalized on 2 infractions, instead he gave me the lesser of the two, and noted the $25 discount. If I dispute, I'd lose that discount. If i win the dispute great, but if I lose the dispute, I would have wasted time and lost the discount, and possibly even have the 2nd fine tacked on. So.. yea. I only wanted to know what your opinions on the situation.

Also, for my bumper (6th gen civic), is there any bolts i can just screw the plate on, or do I need to get a complete mount for it? Thanks

I don't understand what sort of explaining you could have done? You were given 2 plates. All it takes is one second when you received the plates, "Do I need to mount my front plate on the front of the car?"

Just suck it up and pay. You were guilty of it, man up and pay. Like other people said, ignorance is not an excuse. It's different if you weren't given a second plate.

Well that cop must of noticed how much of a tard you are and gave u the more harsher fine...

:facepalm:

Do u not have anything better to say other then the judge is called the worship cause most ppl know that thx for edumacating me about it:thumbsup:

Nothing to proud of but ive disputed a fair share of tickets in my life time and i DO know how the process works. Maybe on a simple case sucha as a licence plate its best to pay it within 30 days or whatever so you get that discount...

Anything more serious youd be stupid not to dispute because most of the time you will get a lesser fine/ penalties.

/Thread

Re: EuroRSN's thought that the jjp won't tack on higher fines/other charges....

If it goes to trial, the jjp will hear all the evidence and if the defendant is found guilty on that evidence, the jjp is supposed to convict for all infractions that evidence is given for. So if you get a ticket for obstructed plate, but you were speeding, changing lanes without signaling, didn't stop for the stop sign, etc and the officer gives evidence to all of that, the jjp is supposed to convict on ALL of those offences. Not all of them do, but they're supposed to. Also, at the end of the trial, if found guilty, Crown (the officer) can ask for fines to be raised based on seriousness of the offence, driving history, attitude, etc. The fines can be raised much higher than is written on the ticket.

Even if it doesn't go to trial, and the defendant pleads guilty, there is still an opportunity for Crown (the officer) to have the fines raised based on the previously mentioned things. One of my VTs, the driver plead guilty but when asked by the jjp if he was going to drive the speed limit, he said no. After several more chances to say yes, the jjp gave him a 1 week suspension on the spot.

*edit*
Also, once the VT goes to trial, there is no more opportunity to have the fine reduced. If you were given a lower amount roadside (say $138 instead of $196 for speeding), if you get convicted, you pay the amount of the actual offence.

We don't always have to agree to lowering the fine. The jjp will ask if we object. If we object and give reasons for the objection, the fine rarely gets lowered.

he said that in court? holy smokes what a retard.

I was just speaking about my experiences i guess, I am sure other circumstantial events will be played out different and could end up worse then just paying the ticket up front . Your right on that one.

You also have to be careful what you say in court as its all recorded and entered onto record. Nothing like pulling over the same person you've pulled over before after they've said in court that they're not going to drive any faster than 50km/hr in a 50 zone and being able to use that as evidence when they dispute it (again). ;)

I've been to a couple and have also talked to drivers & passengers who did not have a crash but had it slide around during "spirited turns". One guy even had his hand bandaged and said he had some stitches as a souvenier. Said he made the mistake of grabbing it as it flew towards him. Have also been told about interior damage to seats, dash etc as a result of similar situations. The edges are very sharp, even when you are holding them in a stationary car.

You're still not getting it. The person ruling in a traffic court IS NOT A JUDGE. They do not have the actual experience that an actual judge has. That is why they are called justice of peace and NOT A JUDGE.

And the officer wouldn't be giving you a harsher fine because you're a tard but because he cut you a break and you decided to spit in his face.

Good job on back peddling.

^ dude u need to learn to shut the fuck up!