My First Ticket

Today is both a happy day and a sad day for me. Happy because under Gary's guidance I fought my first ticket, and sad because I had a ticket to begin with.

A few weeks ago while driving over to my aunt and uncle's house, I was merging onto Beddington Blvd where the speed limit was 80 km/h but coming off a road where the limit was only 60. A few hundred metres before the roads merged, cops were hiding under an overpass behind a concrete pillar with their radar. As I got closer, I saw a cop step out into the road and wave me over. I was going 76 in a 60 zone.

I can usually spot cops from miles away when they're trying to be sneaky like that, but it was pitch black outside and I didn't really stand a chance. The ticket was for $103. Ouch. I thought I should get off with a warning since I've never had a ticket before, but the cop thought differently.

This morning Gary and I went to see the Crown Prosecutor. We waited in line for a very long time, but when we finally got in things were quick. He was willing to waive my demerits. I bargained for a reduced fine. Eventually he agreed to give me $30 off, but was very hesitant. He warned me that it was foolish as my insurance would probably go up by that much or more. I'm not too sure what the new insurance policies involve, but it was a chance I was willing to take, especially since I'll be out of the Country before ours is up for renewal.

The guy in line behind us had apparently had tickets for running a red light and stunting (same incident, the cop gave him two tickets), and he was able to get the Crown Prosecutor to go from $499 to $115 and change the offence. He played the poor student card. I was pretty impressed.

-Tracie, 30 dollars richer.....but not really