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Motor Vehicle Violation Tickets

The Charge

The British Columbia Motor Vehicle Act (MVA) sets out a myriad of driving offences designed to promote road safety. The MVA and its Regulations set out rules to govern everything from the licencing and insurance requirements of drivers to speeding, careless driving and alcohol and drug related offences. While upon conviction, drivers are subject to fines, the real issue for drivers is that the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles, through RoadSafetyBC, will seek to prohibit drivers who have accumulated too many of the demerit points that go along with traffic ticket convictions. A small sampling of demerit point penalties are set out below, listed by Offence / MVA Section No..

2 POINTS

Fail to yield to pedestrian / 127 (1)
Red light at intersection / 129 (1)
Flashing red light / 131 (1)
Unsafe lane change / 151 (a)
Improper left turn / 166

3 POINTS

Fail to state name and address / 73 (2)
Speed against highway sign / 146 (3)
Cross solid double line / 155 (1)
Fail to pass safely / 157 (1)
Improper turn at intersection / 165 (2)

4 POINTS

Use of electronic device / 214.2

6 POINTS

Careless driving / 144 (1)(a)
Driving without reasonable consideration / 144 (1)(b)

10 POINTS

Driving while prohibited or suspended / 95
All Criminal Code driving offences

Because RoadSafetyBC will serve driving prohibitions for drivers who collect too many demerit penalty points, it sometimes becomes prudent to retain a lawyer to defend against a motor vehicle violation ticket. We can help drivers avoid being issued a Notice of Intent to Prohibit.

Recent Successes

R. v. M.F. – Surrey Provincial Court

Charge: Health insurance fraud investigation.
Issue: Given our client's civil settlement of the alleged false insurance claims. whether there was any public interest in proceeding with criminal charges.
Result: Mr. Gauthier was able to negotiate an appropriate civil settlement and repayment to the employer. No criminal prosecution.

R. v. V.H. – Port Coquitlam Provincial Court

Charges: Assault (domestic).
Issue: Whether or not it was contrary to the public interest for our client to be sentenced to a conditional discharge.
Result: Mr. Mines was able to steer our client through a course of rehabilitation. The Court granted our client the discharge and placed her on probation. No record of conviction.

R. v. J.M. – Abbotsford Provincial Court

Charge: Health insurance fraud investigation.
Issue: Given our client's civil settlement of the alleged false insurance claims. whether there was any public interest in proceeding with criminal charges.
Result: Mr. Mines was able to negotiate an appropriate civil settlement and repayment to the employer. No criminal prosecution.

R. v. K.D. – Vancouver Provincial Court

Charge: Mischief Under $5000 (reduced to Peace Bond).
Issue: Given our client's background and rehabilitative efforts, whether it was in the oublic interest to proceed with a criminal prosecution.
Result: Mr. Mines was able to persude the criminal charge upon our client entering into a 12 month peace bond. No criminal record.

R. v. N.S. – Vancouver Provincial Court

Charge: Theft under $5000 (shoplifting).
Issue: Given our client's background and remorse, whether it was in the public interest to proceed with a criminal prosecution.
Result: Mr. mines was able to persuade Crown counsel to admit our client into the Alternative Measures program. Upon completion, Crown counsel entered a stay of proceedings, bringing the matter to an end. No criminal conviction.

R. v. N.S. – Vancouver Provincial Court

Charges: Theft Under $5,000 (shoplifting).
Issue: Given our client's background, was it in the public interest to proceed with the criminal prosecution.
Result: Mr. Mines was able to persuade Crown counsel to allow our client into the Alternative Measures Program and, upon our client's completion of the program, Crown enteres a stay of proceedings. No criminal record.

R. v. C.G. – Vancouver Provincial Court

Charges: Fraud (in the range of $50,000).
Issue: Based on information Mr. Gauthier was able to provide to the civil investigators about our client's personal circumstances, whether it was in the public interest to proceed with a criminal prosecution.
Result: Mr. Gauthier was able to settle the matter civilly on our client's behalf. No charges were recommended. No criminal record.

R. v. B.X. – Surrey Provincial Court

Charges: Assault; Sexual Assault.
Issue: Whether the complainant was a credible and reliable witness.
Result:  Upon hearing Mr. Mines' submissions on our client's behalf at the conclusion of the trial, the Court found our client not guilty on both counts. Acquittal. No criminal record.

R. v. A.L. – North Vancouver Provincial Court

Charge: Sexual assault.
Issue: Whether there was a substantial likelihood of a conviction.
Result: Mr. Mines was able to steer our client through the police investigation by providing information to police on our client's behalf. Ultimately, Crown counsel decided to not approve any criminal charge. No jail; no criminal record.

R. v. A.Z. – Vancouver Provincial Court

Charge: Assault (domestic).
Issue: Given information we provided to Crown counsel regarding our client's background, the circumstances of the incident and the complainant's wishes, whether there was a public interest in proceeding with the criminal prosecution.
Result: Mr. Gauthier was able to persuade Crown counsel to enter a stay of proceedings, bringing the case to an end.  No criminal record.

R. v. I.R. – Vancouver Provincial Court

Charges: Sexual assault, assault x 2
Issues: Whether a jail sentence was appropriate in all the circumstances, and whether our client should be excused from having to register as a sex offender.
Result: Upon hearing Mr. Johnston’s submissions regarding our client’s personal circumstances, rehabilitative progress, and the unusual nature of the offences, the Court imposed a sentence of probation, rather than the conditional sentence the Crown had sought. For the same reasons, the Court also agreed to excuse our client from the usual requirement of having to register as a sex offender.

R. v. R.A.M. – Vancouver Provincial Court

Charge: Robbery, uttering threats, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose
Issues: Whether there was a reasonable chance our client would be convicted at trial, and whether there was public interest in continuing to prosecute our client.
Result: Given Mr. Johnston’s representations on behalf of our client and the unusual circumstances of the offence, the Crown agreed there would be difficulty establishing our client was the one who committed the alleged offences, and that it was not in the public interest to continue prosecuting our client. Stay of proceedings. No criminal record.  
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The Defence

One of our first considerations is the timing of any trial that we set. This is because the ICBC Driver Improvement Policy sets out generally that the number of penalty points accumulated over a 2-year period are to be considered when assessing whether a driver should be prohibited. For example, a Class 5 driver with no previous prohibitions will be served with a Notice to Prohibit for between 3 and 8 months when they reach 15 demerit points within 2 years. Thus, scheduling a trial date outside of the two-year window may be the best strategy to avoid accumulating too many points.

Defending a traffic ticket is much like defending a criminal charge. While traffic matters are considered to be “strict liability” offences in that the Crown need not prove that the driver intended to commit the offence, the police/Crown still have the burden of proving that the offence occurred beyond a reasonable doubt. When retained to defend traffic violation tickets, we will employ all of the same methods and strategies as we would for a criminal trial. For example, we will contact the relevant police agency to obtain the police report and officer’s notes relevant to the incident. We will prepare for trial by reviewing the allegation and, in appropriate cases, making you ready to testify in court. During the trial, we will cross examine the investigating officer with respect to issues like identifying you as the driver; and the officer’s ability to observe and remember facts such as traffic conditions, and the speed and actions of other vehicles. We have a great track record in Traffic Court for negotiating away convictions and penalty points as well as securing acquittals for our clients.

Start with a free consultation.

If you are being investigated by police or if you’ve been charged with a criminal or driving offence, don’t face the problem alone. Being accused of an offence is stressful. The prospects of a criminal record or jail sentence can be daunting. Even if you think there is no defence, we may be able to help. To schedule a free initial consultation with one of our Vancouver lawyers, contact us now.

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