Q: I was served 2 violation tickets. I’d like an inquiry about what I’d be looking forward to in court. I was served one count of excessive speed MVA 148(1), prohibited use of HOV, and fail to display ‘N’ sign. Also gave me a charge of operating MV with Cannabis in vehicle. Prior to that I was an N class driver with 30 months clean driving, I had not went for a class 5 test due to preoccupations.
A background, I had dropped my father off at home and left to see my mother and brother because they were back from vacation during Saturday. When I had finished dinner with my mom, I had got in my car, and reached into my console to change one of my cd’s and noticed the Cannabis there. My father’s willing to testify and say that it is his and that he had forgotten it there. I decided to leave thinking nothing would really happen, “it’s legal” is what I said. A small bag that wasn’t weighed for me but I’m sure was less than 2 grams.
On the highway in Coquitlam, I had noticed too many times the commercial trucks ahead of me spilling rocks out of their trucks. There was much less room to the right of me and nobody seemed to me moving forward. I decided for a moment to get in front of them using the HOV due to the fact I saw ahead nobody was there and in my mirror nobody was coming for 100’s of yards. When I eventually made my move and was slowing back down, I had noticed lights behind me, and I was pulled over. I was issued the 2 tickets, and had my car impounded for 7 days. The officer smelled my car and asked if I had any in it. I told him no first but then thought about it and gave the truth, not saying that it wasn’t mine, because I’m not going to openly blame others.
Due to the fact that the officer spelt my name wrong on all pieces of paperwork, and wrote the colour of my car wrong, I believe there’s reasonable doubt I wasn’t going that fast. The incident happened in a 2 litre VW Jetta, I’ve owned a luxury car for 18 months with 3x more HP and didn’t get any violations in it. He also didn’t make me sign the ticket.
Failure to display N sign. I park in an alleyway behind work in the morning which is beside 2 restaurants and always has lowlife’s hanging out in it, and I park at University which is no doubt a place for thieves. I can’t always remember to take it off and leave it on. I’ve constantly replaced new ‘N’ signs on my car and they consistently go missing.
It’s extremely important to my work and school obligations that I have a vehicle for use. My father doesn’t have a driver’s license and he’s the only person I live with. The public transportation systems where I live are not viable for my schedule.
I have booked a class 5 road test in order to soften the punishments that might be dealt to me ahead. Please let me know what you think about this case.
A: Let's deal with your issues one by one:
1) Cannabis in the car with a GLP driver.
Cannabis in vehicle operated by minor
74 (1) A minor must not operate a vehicle, whether or not the vehicle is in motion, while there is cannabis in the vehicle.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the cannabis
(a) was produced by a federal producer, is still in the packaging from its purchase by a consumer and the packaging has never been opened,
(b) is not readily accessible to the driver and any passengers in the vehicle, or
(c) is no more than 4 cannabis plants that are not budding or flowering.
Unless you can meet the conditions in (2) or are not a minor, simply having the cannabis in the car with you is a violation.
2) Commercial trucks spilling rocks.
Not a nice thing to be stuck behind, but another valid response to the problem is to drop back rather than go past if you can't pass legally.
3) Using the HOV lane.
Did you have enough passengers in your vehicle to justify the use of the HOV lane? If not, you are in violation. An aside, there is also a solid line between lanes for most of their length. If you crossed a solid line to get into the HOV lane that was a further violation.
4) Speed
There is nothing in your explanation regarding speed aside from receiving a ticket for it. I can't give advice without facts.
7) Fail to display the N sign.
No sign? The responsibility is yours. Perhaps you need to display it from inside the back window. Hopefully the glass is not so black that the sign cannot be seen.
8) I have to drive.
I'm sure that RoadSafetyBC hears that a lot. What seems to be trivial while you are driving suddenly becomes much more important. For this reason alone, it's worth making the correct choices.
9) Booking a class 5 road test.
Good strategy. RoadSafetyBC allows "experienced" drivers to disobey more often or make a lot more mistakes than GLP drivers before they face licence suspensions. Odd, but in most other situations we expect experienced people to not make mistakes or the wrong choices.
10) What do I think?
Busted.... On so many levels, obviously overdue. I don’t “buy” any of your “excuses” for the multiple violations. Just a matter of time you were caught, guess it was your time. Besides, takes ownership and accountability, learn from your violations stop excusing them.
Thats My Five Cents! (No pennies anymore)
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Here's an odd thing.
I spend a lot of my time on the highway, through Burnaby, Coquitlam, Surrey, etc. And honestly, I haven't once noticed commercial trucks ahead of me spilling rocks out of their trucks; it just doesn't seem to be a hazard these days.
But I often do see impatient younger drivers trying to move faster than the traffic flow often zipping in and out of the HOV lane to try and get ahead. They're a nuisance and a hazard, too, as they rarely give other drivers reasonable space margins.
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Your anecdotal evidence may be true, and its truly amazing that it hasn't been a problem for you considering how much you drive.
In my anecdotal experience - every single car I have owned for the past 10 years (4) has gotten its windshield cracked by the rocks spewing from trucks in the adjacent lane on the highway :(
And I drive a lot less. Maybe its because your windshield is high up, and all my cars have been low to the ground. You should check your grille for chips, since thats where my windshield would be.
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Interesting reply, thanks. And of course, you're not wrong, chips do get flung back from trucks sometimes and there have been a couple of occasions over the decades when I've had to take my vehicle to the local windshield repair place to get chips fixed, there's more information on that here for those who are unfamiliar with the process.
This type of damage though is not typically (as suggested by the OP), because of spillage, though! Spilled rocks, dirt, etc, would just scatter on the roadway and be unlikely to bounce much; they're not tennis balls. What happens is that the dual rear tires of the vehicle (and it can be a dump truck, cement mixer, bus, recreational vehicle, heavy-duty pickup truck, etc) will get a rock jammed between those rear tires - obviously, dump trucks that have just left a building site are a prime suspect, as they have lotsa dual tire pairs, but if you think about it 18-Wheelers only have five axles, if you get my meaning. Lotsa tire pairs.
Once on the highway, although tire pressures will increase some from the heat generated, they won't expand outward* though, but circumferentially. In other words, the tires get 'taller' due to centrifical effect and the sidewalls become less rounded, more flattened. And bingo, that's when those rocks get released and fired off like missiles in whatever direction (a prime reason why those big mudflaps are mandatory, incidentally).
*Oftentimes, you'll see a shredded tire carcass on the roadway or the shoulder of the road. What has occurred there isn't a result of over-loading, though - it's a consequence of too little pressure in that tire, probably due to neglect on the part of the driver. At highway speeds, the sidewalls of that low pressure (or no pressure) tire will start to ripple from the stress until it eventually disintegrates. A real good reason for requiring the driver to do a proper Pre-Trip inspection before putting the vehicle on the road that day.
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Although the title stated 5 Tickets in 1 Stop, your narrative only outlines 4.
Alleged Violations
1. Were you excessively speeding ?
2. Were you driving in the HOV lane with no passengers ?
3. Was there pot in your vehicle ?
4. Are you a New Driver and did you not have a New Driver Sign displayed ?
Excuses
1. Is there a provision in the MVA that make it permissible to driver in the HOV lane if a truck is dropping rocks nearby ?
2. Is there a provision in the MVA that makes if permissible to operate a vehicle with an open container of POT if your father put it there ?
3. Is there a provision in the MVA that makes it permissible if you are the holder of a N DL, to fail to display an "N" sign if you forgot to put it on after securing it because of a fear of theft ?
4. Is there a provision in the MVA that allows you to disobey MVA violations and not receive tickets if it is really important that you have a license ?
Count the number of "Yes" answers from the list of Alleged Violations get a total. From that total, count and subtract the number of "YES" answers from the list of excuses.
That's the number of tickets you deserve.
As for not signing the ticket(s), you apparently aren't disputing that you received the tickets, since you are quoting their contents. Also your appearance in court to dispute them will further prove that. All the Constable had to do is complete an affidavit that you were served, which he very likely did. If that concerns you, I encourage you to ask him when he is on the stand, so he can clear that up for you.
The color of your car doesn't matter a hill of beans, but give it your best shot with the JP. Your possition that since the wrong color was noted on the ticket none of this happened likely will be a bit difficult for the JP to swallow, but as I say give it a shot.
The mispelling of you name, as well, is minor. If you are alledging that it wasn't you operating the vehicle and someone produced a false DL with the mispelling on it ??? But then that leaves the question how did you know about the violations to dispute them. The question to the court will be, "did the content of the ticket provide you with enough information to inform you to properly understand the allegations against you. If the name noted on the ticket was "Betty Jones" and your's is "Bob Smithe" I think you may have a bit of an arguement, but if the ticket read "Bob Smith" you're grabbing at straws.
Oh, and getting your class 5 ? I don't know how ICBC will deal with that, because, you see if you get a pile of tickets, after you serve you driving suspension, they hold you back from getting a class 5 for, I think it's another two years (you are forced to re-start the GLP program). Now wether they do that retroactively to someone who gets a pile and then applies for a class 5 before the tickets form part of your driving record, I don't know. Iwould hope they do.
You better hope one of the questions, when you apply for your class 5 DL, isn't "Do you have any violations pending ?"
I'd work on my priorities, since you say your license is so important, that would indicate that you'd want to keep it. You stated "I had not went for a class 5 test due to preoccupations".
It's pretty common knowledge that there more onus placed on a New driver to obey traffic laws and it take a lot less to be suspended (and thus restart the GLP) being the holder of a N license.
Probably a good rule of thumb that when you are illegally driving without your N sign, open pot, in the HOV lane, that you don't further draw attention to yourself by travelling in excess of the speed limit by 40 kph.
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Oh, and getting your class 5 ? I don't know how ICBC will deal with that, because, you see if you get a pile of tickets, after you serve you driving suspension, they hold you back from getting a class 5 for, I think it's another two years (you are forced to re-start the GLP program). Now wether they do that retroactively to someone who gets a pile and then applies for a class 5 before the tickets form part of your driving record, I don't know. Iwould hope they do.
You better hope one of the questions, when you apply for your class 5 DL, isn't "Do you have any violations pending ?"
Don't take this as gospel by any means, but I think that the way the system works, is that after a certain amount of delay (probably 30 days), if the tickets have not been disputed, then they will go on the driver's record. Any consequences or penalties will then come into effect. The person who started this has already admitted the violations to us, and as you so eloquently point out he probably won't have a leg to stand on in court. Judges ain't stupid.
Also, there was this:
I have booked a class 5 road test in order to soften the punishments that might be dealt to me ahead.
That the OP was actually able to schedule that C5 RT indicates that so far, the violations have not gone against his driving record. Yet.
So it could come down to what happens soonest - the ticketed violations finally becoming part of his driving record, or he is actually successful in passing that Class 5 Road Test (no guarantees, there, either). Even with an appointment, if the Notice of Prohibition has already been issued, this will be immediately evident to the CSR at the ICBC office when he presents himself expecting to take that C5 RT. In that case, the driver is completely out of luck and won't even be able to drive home as his Class 7 is already invalid.
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Busted!