Traffic Tickets

Question: I just received a ticket under section 151(c) MVA, basically saying that I changed lanes without signal. I find it upsetting that I received this ticket because I did turn on my signal. He said it was just not fast enough as I was just completing a right turn then going to the left lane and the blinker was still signalling right.

Alexander Holliday was issued a traffic ticket for not having a valid driver's licence and failing to display a new driver sign. The ticketed amounts would be $276 and $109 respectively along with 3 penalty points for the no driver's licence infraction. Mr. Holliday disputed the ticket.

"I'll see you in traffic court!" This hollow threat often ended conversations at the roadside after a driver was issued a traffic ticket for a violation. I knew that few of them would actually carry out their intention and if they did, there would probably be no coherent defence made.

On May 3, 2023 Barry Johnson entered the intersection of West Hastings and Bute Streets in Vancouver. He was issued a traffic ticket for failing to stop at the yellow light. That ticket showed the location of Hastings and Bute Streets which Mr. Johnson told the justice did not exist at his dispute.

The case of R v Robinson involves a traffic ticket for disobeying a traffic control device. Kevin Robinson was issued the ticket for disobeying a speed sign in Abbotsford instead of a ticket for speeding against highway sign which was more expensive.

I’ve always understood penalty points to be a kind of score keeping method to assign a level of risk to the breach of a traffic rule. The more dangerous the violation, the more penalty points that would be assigned to a driving conviction. Rack up too many points in a set period of time and you would have to pay ICBC premiums and risk a driving prohibition from RoadSafetyBC.

The case of R v Zhang involves the dispute of a traffic ticket for speeding and not displaying a new driver sign. Mr. Zhang pled guilty to disobeying a traffic control device instead of the speeding offence. He did not know that the disobeying a traffic control device conviction included penalty points.

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.

The case of R v Robinson involves disobeying a traffic control device at the intersection of Maclure Road and Babich Street in Abbotsford. In this instance, the traffic control device was the speed limit sign for the road that Mr. Robinson was driving on. The ticket alleged that he had failed to obey a traffic control device, but said nothing further.

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.