question about motor vehicle violation ticket
 

i got a ticket for obstructed license plate (section 3.03, $460 fine).

the police officer told me i can get the ticket canceled if i disputed the ticket in traffic court, provided i bring proof in pictures of my car showing that i have fixed the issue.

however after discussing this with others, they question if this is correct, saying i could just go to the police station and show it to them in person and the ticket could be canceled on the spot without having to go to court. i remember doing this for an illegal windshield banner, but that was over a decade ago.

who is correct? did i get it wrong? :confused:

I would call the non-emergency line and just ask them.

How was your plate obstructed? Or just no front plate?

I would get it fixed right away, then call the police station where the officer works and see if you can bring it in while he/she is working, then hopefully he/she will cancel it without you having to go to court. If after 30 days, you still haven't managed to meet up with the officer, then dispute it like the officer is suggesting and bring the photos to court whenever that date happens (a year from now or something like that). The hope is you can show the officer in the next 30 days and not have to wait a whole year to clear this up.

i got the same ticket x2 for having the gray/smoke license plate cover. vpd told me the same thing. I offered to take it off on the spot, or take them off and go to the detachment and personally show him that its off later. But he claimed he has no time for that. He said "I have to work for it" and be "accountable for it" so I had to dispute it and bring a photo of the covers taken off to court and he would drop it.

Originally I was pulled over for cruising through a yellow light and upon writing up the 3 tickets, he had only given me the 2 illegible plate tickets...

when was yours issued? have you gone to court yet?

i went to the rcmp detachment yesterday, and the person at the front desk said that my ticket could not be canceled because it was not a "notice to order". only the traffic court judge can do anything about it, whether it be tossing the ticket out for a reason (eg. police officer was a no-show), or change the fined amount, and i was then told to go straight to the nearest MVB.

so i went to my nearest branch and explained what happened as the agent at the MVB filed my notice of dispute. i was instructed to dispute the fine and not the charge, as i am bringing proof in pictures that the frames are gone, and at that point i can only hope that the police officer would stand by what he said and ask the judge to remove the fine.

someone else waiting in line behind me said sarcastically that the cop is doing it this way and writing up as many tickets as possible so that he can spend the day in court and be paid for it.

i was told that a notice to appear in court would take 6 months to a year to arrive, and then it could be another 6-12 months for the actual court date? is this true? :confused:

that's not true. the officer who issued you the ticket can cancel it at anytime, they don't need to go to court to ask the judge to do it. he/she can just fill out a form and send it to ICBC.

the person at the detachment front desk can't do anything to help you. you need to get in touch with the actual officer and see if he/she will consider cancelling the ticket before the court date if you can show them you've fixed it. if not, then you have to wait around 18 months or so for the court day. then hope the officer remembers his/her agreement with you and tells the judge he/she wants to withdraw the charge and cancel the ticket.

also, if I were you, I'd go back to the MVB and change your dispute from just the fine to the actual charge. by disputing the fine, you are essentially pleading guilty to the charge, which may prevent the officer or judge from cancelling the ticket (i'm not totally sure about this).

I got my ticket in May. I disputed the allegation. Have yet to receive my notice to appear. And yes it takes months for the court notice to come and depending on the municipality, could take a few months to a year or more for the court date.

Luckily I had the whole conversation with the accusing officer recorded on my dash cam. I saved it right away so he can be held accountable as well. In our conversation he says "bring the picture, depending on my mood, ill get them to either withdrawal the ticket or you can plead guilty with an explanation and it will get reduced next to nothing"

Just playing the waiting game now... probably not going to contact him until our court date. Fuck em, imo its probably best to not give him the benefit of refreshing his memory on the situation anyway. Usually they take notes but its not going to be as accurate as a recorded conversation.