Prohibited from Driving a Motor Vehicle
 

Hey all, hope this is the right place to post this.

I'm a new driver (still with an N) and I've gotten 2 speeding tickets in the last couple of months (speedtraps on the way to UBC).

Anyway, I thought it was no big deal but I recently got a letter that states that I'm prohibited from Driving for 2 months... This would really suck since I have to commute to get to and from school.

I'm not trying to justify that speeding is correct or whatever, I'm just wondering what's the best way to deal with the situation.

1) Can I still drive before responding to the letter? The letter seems to state that the period doesn't start until I acknowledge it, so I'm hoping I can drive for a week since school ends soon anyway.

2) Is it worth it to try and fight (and/or retain a lawyer) the charges?

3) Will my insurance premium go up? (I know it will go up because I have 6 points, but does the prohibition increase it?)

Thanks so much for the help guys.

Was the letter you received a "Notice of Intent To Prohibit" or a "Notice of Prohibition"?

"Notice of Prohibition" - i never got an intent.

To be safe, without knowing the whole story. Driving with a suspension can result in the following.

That being said, I may have the wrong information. But better to be safe than sorry.

1. You can but know that if you get pulled over, they'll seize your license on the spot and you'll have to get your car towed.

2. No.

3. No.

Familiarize yourself with this: http://www.vancouversun.com/cms/binary/9225749.jpg

If you have received a "Notice of Prohibition" you must stop driving immediately.

Failure to do so is an offence under s.95 of the Motor Vehicle Act.

The mandatory minimum for driving while prohibited is a 1 year driving prohibition and a $500 dollar fine. You may also incur other charges such as towing/impound of your vehicle.

You "could" receive jail time for a first offence although this is unlikely, on a subsequent offence however, jail time is a real possibility (14 days in jail).

To sum things up in a nice simple way for you:

1) You should have stopped driving immediately when you received the letter. Continuing to operate a motor vehicle is an offence subsequent to punishment/consequences.
2) You can retain a lawyer and try to fight it but the cost hiring a lawyer to fight this would probably not be worth it. Also, to time to find a lawyer, present him with the letter, have discussions, make an appeal, etc will probably take atleast 2 months anyways making it moot.
3) Your premiums are based on points so I dont think having the prohibition will increase it any further. However, you should note that there is now a record of driving prohibition on your drivers abstract which may cause problems for you down the road when applying for jobs.

OK thanks for the detailed information.
1) I haven't driven the car since I got the letter (I just opened up the letter in the mail tonight.)

2) Maybe to contribute a little bit more information, the offenses I've gotten include 2 charges of speeding (81 in a 60 zone) and (75 in a 50 zone) and I charge of not displaying my N. You might think it's bullshit or whatever but I did legitimately have my N stolen and tried to explain that to the officer but that didn't help.

I'm giving this extra information because I'm quite surprised that my license has been suspended - I've heard stories of people racking up like 30-40 points for example and they're still driving.

Anyway, I will stop operating my vehicle and just transit, I guess. To be young and reckless.

One last question - there's an enclosed application for review, has anything I've said give any merit, or is it basically a form to throw more money away?

Thanks - J

iirc the form costs $100 dollars to process.

you were going 81 in a 60 and going 75 in a 50 and also failed to display your N. do you have lawful excuse to operate your motor vehicle at the speeds mentioned?

the onus is on you to secure your property. if you had your N stolen you should have replaced it asap. you could have also taken it upon yourself to place it in your vehicle rather than leave it on the outside where it could get stolen. etc etc etc.

i suppose you could apply on compassionate grounds, "oh woe is me, i need to bus to school instead of driving", but i think it'd be better to save your $100 dollars (plus the mailing fee to victoria) and chalk it up to a lesson learned.

:thumbs:

Dont forget postage is going up!

It takes 2 seconds to throw your N on the driver's seat to prevent it from being stolen, and another 2 to put it back on the car when you leave. Also you live in Metro Vancouver, N's being stolen is highly commonplace and is frequently mentioned on the forums. There's no excuse for not preventing it or having extras in your glove box.

Those are generally just that, stories. Or they did rack up the points, got suspended, and kept driving anyways. Maybe that's how they ended up with so many points to begin with.

This, and the threshold for prohibition of a class 7N DL is 4 points as it is a stage of the GLP. The people telling you stories (which I would not believe) likely have class 5 DLs which have a higher threshold for prohibition.

On that note, do you know if this restricts me from applying for class 5 once the 2 month period ends?

The 24 month minimum term with a class 7N is restarted when you're prohibited.

Is there any way to dispute this or lower the time?

No.

What always gets me about things like this, you have an N. That obviously means you have to be really fucking careful otherwise you'll get your license revoked. Correct?

Now, you were speeding. You're guilty, and i hate to quote such an over used cliche but "you committed the crime, now do the time". Also, you full well knew the consequences of speeding. If you get caught, you get a ticket, get caught more, it's possible to lose your license. If you speed knowing the possible penalties, don't bitch when you get caught. If you didn't know the penalties beforehand, shoulda' done your research.

Nah, I got 4 tickets in 1 year with a Class 5 and got a Notice of Prohibition (young/courier). IIRC they totaled 12 points. There's no way anyone could get 25+ points and retain their license.