Traffic Tickets

What can I expect at a Traffic Court Hearing? is a page on the Provincial Court of British Columbia web site. It's a short overview of the process for someone that has never disputed a violation ticket before and doesn't have the time to view a trial in order to gain experience ahead of time.

When an officer writes a traffic ticket the description of the offence is required to give the driver enough information to understand what they are being charged with. If that is not the case, the judicial justice could choose to dismiss the offence. This case is an example of that.

This article was written in May of 2015 when there was a brief flurry in the media about the implementation of electronic traffic tickets and dispute adjudication replacing traffic court. Amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act to allow these changes were made in 2012, but fast forward to March 2022 and no changes to traffic ticket disputes have occurred.

In the past, if you were curious to find out about the traffic tickets issued by B.C. law enforcement officers you could either read a PDF document published by ICBC or make a request for specific information from their stored data. The trouble was, sometimes those information requests took a significant period of time to fill and you had to know how to manipulate the information once you had received it.

Question: When I drive into a construction zone I see the sign about double the fine, but have been told that the fine incurred is actually excessive speed if the speed is too high. Is there an actual regulation about double the fine or is this sign just a deterrent?

Question: I filed for disclosure and received a call today from the traffic court registry. They told me that the Crown Counsel is not involved and that only the officer who issued the ticket can provide disclosure. I requested the officers evidence and notes the same day I filed for dispute and never received a response.

I refused to sign the traffic ticket that I got for speeding last week. Does that mean this ticket is invalid and I don't have to pay it? Questions like this one are common from readers who were not happy following their roadside encounter with traffic enforcement. However, a violator's signature is not required to make the ticket valid.

Daniel Prediger was issued a traffic ticket for speeding at Isle Pierre and appeared in traffic court represented by counsel before Judicial Justice Adair to dispute the allegation. The lawyer raised two issues, the officer using a memory aid to assist in testimony and what evidence needs to be led by the Crown before the court can rely on a speed measuring device reading.

This is a case where Timothy Drewcock appealed his conviction for speeding in traffic court. His position is that the JJP should not have admitted police radar evidence because there was no evidence explaining when and how the radar instrument used in the case was tested and what tests were made.