Traffic court sitting

[revelations]

Might be a dumb question, does the Calgary traffic court allow the public to view a sitting?

No, Im not disputing a ticket.... but one day I probably will, so its nice to have some idea of what goes on.

[BlackFyre]

Why is this posted in Street Encounters?

[adidas]

Yes you can have a seat. Most of the traffic disputes take place on the 9th floor.

[tom_9109]

Any and all courts in canada are open to the public.

[teg_boya]

not to thread jack, but i have a court date coming up on the 14th of August and i am wondering if anybody could give me a rough idea of what to expect. I am disputing a driving over the center line ticket that happened back in December

[revelations]

What kind of defense are you planning on?

- I didnt do it
- I did it for a reason

[teg_boya]

to tell you the truth, i am not sure what kind of defense i am going to come with yet... i don't know if you familiar with the road, but it is center street coming up to McKnight. The left turn lane is really short, and before the turn lane there is a gap in the middle of the road wide enough for two cars driving opposite directions, but the gap is lined with yellow lines on either side. i took that lane (like the other 100 drivers doing it...) in order to get into the left turn lane so i wouldn't miss the protected left. it wasn't dangerous in any way, but the cop was waiting for people just lie me. when i got the ticket, he told me straight up that i was numero uno of 20 to come to fil the quota. when i went to get it reduced, the crown said he didn't want to help me, so i really just scheduled the court date as a last resort. I am really hoping that he doesn't show up, but i doubt that will happen.

[revelations]

Honestly, it sounds like a waste of time.

You got nailed by a traffic cop. These guys are pros and will tend to show up in court more often than regular cops who have files they need to deal with.

How much was the ticket for? I wouldnt bother unless it was for a large amount.

[teg_boya]

ya, im thinking it is a wste of time too but it is not so much the money as much as it is the demerits. It is a 4 demerit ticket, but only $170. I cant afford 4 demerits on my license, so i am trying to either prolong it as long as possible or get out of it...

[revelations]

Not sure how it works here (yet) but in BC you could change the court proceedings a few times (with a good excuse - eg out of country) which delayed the points, sometimes by a few years.

[teg_boya]

ya thats what i am doing... i have been delaying as long as possible but from my experience in Calgary (a lot of experience...) they only let you delay the ticket for a few months at a time. I will def use the "out of country/vacation" card at least once for this ticket... maybe if i wait long enough the cop will retire and i will be home free..

[bashir26]

I went to court the other day because the officer caught me driving on the opposite side of the road in December 2007.

I told the judge it was impossible for me to be driving on the opposite side of the road on 10ave at 2:00am because everyone is leaving the clubs. The roads were small and packed. They ended up throwing the ticket out.

I also got my 45km/h over ticket reduced to 15km/h which was two demerit points I think.

I was pretty stupid back in December, so before the bashing begins I have changed!

[Spoons]

Originally posted by teg_boya
to tell you the truth, i am not sure what kind of defense i am going to come with yet... i don't know if you familiar with the road, but it is center street coming up to McKnight. The left turn lane is really short, and before the turn lane there is a gap in the middle of the road wide enough for two cars driving opposite directions, but the gap is lined with yellow lines on either side. i took that lane (like the other 100 drivers doing it...) in order to get into the left turn lane so i wouldn't miss the protected left. it wasn't dangerous in any way, but the cop was waiting for people just lie me. when i got the ticket, he told me straight up that i was numero uno of 20 to come to fil the quota. when i went to get it reduced, the crown said he didn't want to help me, so i really just scheduled the court date as a last resort. I am really hoping that he doesn't show up, but i doubt that will happen.

LOL Cops love that area, and EVERYONE does it, except me. I always know there is that one cop waiting for someone to do it. I have seen a cop pull over 5 cars for doing it. I wouldn't even bother trying, I have seen many friends try and fail horribly.

The chances of him showing up are pretty high. Cops used to not show up because it wasn't worth their time, but now I believe (could be wrong) that they get paid more when they attend court dates.

[teg_boya]

Originally posted by Spoons


LOL Cops love that area, and EVERYONE does it, except me. I always know there is that one cop waiting for someone to do it. I have seen a cop pull over 5 cars for doing it. I wouldn't even bother trying, I have seen many friends try and fail horribly.

The chances of him showing up are pretty high. Cops used to not show up because it wasn't worth their time, but now I believe (could be wrong) that they get paid more when they attend court dates.

ya i now know how much they love that area too... the cop was in a grey charger parked in the strip mall so he was invisible. needless to say i was not happy. going to court will at least extend payment which extends the time till the demerits are on my record, which is what i am mainly concerned about anyways...