Q&A - Officer Forgot to Serve Me My Speeding Ticket

Question: I was not given my copy of a speeding ticket. Will it be mailed to me or should I phone? I know which RCMP detachment wrote the ticket.

Now this will be an interesting question!

Serving a True Copy

The officer must serve a true copy of the Violation Ticket to you in a fashion acceptable under the Offence Act in order for the ticket to be dealt with properly by the system. Improper service, or no service, means that it's not valid ticket. Ticket copies are not supposed to be forwarded to you by mail.

Mistakes Do Happen

To be honest with you, I did forget to serve a copy on the violator now and again. It's a simple mistake. Unless it was a significant offence, I would often just shred the whole thing and chastise myself for not paying more attention. If it was significant, I would track the driver down and serve the ticket after the fact. This is permissible, but must be done within one year of the date of the offence.

Should You Ask For Your Copy of the Speeding Ticket?

So, do you really want to receive a copy of the speeding ticket? If you don't get one and the officer does not return later to serve you, it will likely end up being a ticket that you'll never have to deal with.

If You Don't Ask

However, if the officer decides to shred your copy but forward the original to ICBC to deal with, you would likely end up deemed convicted of the offence and only find out about it when you go to renew your driver's licence sometime down the road. 

You can backtrack at this point but it is not a simple process.

File a Dispute

The Violation Ticket Centre should be able to advise you if the ticket was entered into the system. If it was, you may choose to ask for a copy and enter a dispute to the allegation. You can argue about the service of a true copy prior to your trial.

Following Up

Knowing this, the decision on what to do now lies with you. Is it worth taking the chance or do you follow up? If you do, simply call the detachment and make arrangements to have the copy delivered.

Who knows, maybe the officer will tell you to forget about it.

Legal Advice

As with all legal actions, you may wish to get advice from a lawyer. The Lawyer Referral Service is a good place to start.

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