Need some help with charges! | GTAMotorcycle.com

Need some help with charges!

evang

evang

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So... my "friend", who only has an M1, let his insurance policy expire on his scooter when he got his bike last year. Today his girlfriend needed a ride to work, so he thought what the hell, it's only 8 blocks, he'll drive her on his scooter... what could possibly happen?

Well turns out his plate was dirty and partially obscured. Cop pulled up beside him right as he was dropping her off. He got charged with having a a dirty plate, riding with a passenger, and with no insurance.

He called his insurance company and had his scooter added to his policy within 10 minutes of being stopped. However, now he has court date on August 5th to answer to these charges and needs some help!

Can anyone recommend a good and reasonably priced company that can help with this?
 
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evang said:
So... my "friend", who only has an M1, let his insurance policy expire on his scooter when he got his bike last year. Today his girlfriend needed a ride to work, so he thought what the hell, it's only 8 blocks, he'll drive her on his scooter... what could possibly happen?

Well turns out his plate was dirty and partially obscured. Cop pulled up beside him right as I was dropping her off. He got charged with having a a dirty plate, riding with a passenger, and with no insurance.

He called his insurance company and had his scooter added to his policy within 10 minutes of being stopped. However, now he has court date on August 5th to answer to these charges and needs some help!

Can anyone recommend a good and reasonably priced company that can help with this?
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Your "friend", huh? :)

Not sure how insuring the scooter after the charge will help, but you may want to ask in the Insurance section.

Was the ticket for "failure to produce evidence of insurance" or "driving without insurance"? Big difference.
 
I can see him maybe getting a reduction on the obstructed plate but really I can't see how he can cast doubt on the fact he was riding with a passenger or riding without insurance. The best I could see is begging for mercy and getting a fine reduction but I doubt they will drop the insurance charge as tha is pretty serious stuff. You could try Redline or a few other paralegals but in the end you might be wasting money when they have your friend caught red handed so to speak.
 
TeamGreen said:
Your "friend", huh? :)

Not sure how insuring the scooter after the charge will help, but you may want to ask in the Insurance section.

Was the ticket for "failure to produce evidence of insurance" or "driving without insurance"? Big difference.
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without insurance.

the cop suggested calling ASAP and having it added and that they might show some lenience on "my friend" ha
 
People speak highly of Redline. My own inclination would be to find a traffic law specialist (lawyer), rather than going with a paralegal. The charge of riding with a passenger is a breach of M1 conditions, that could result in a license suspension (major issue for future insurance). If the charge was riding without insurance then that is also a major charge, from an insurance standpoint, but also carries the possibility of fines from $5,000-$25,000 on a first conviction (I've seen this dropped to $2,500, in court).

The Law Society of Upper Canada can assist with finding a traffic law specialist: http://www.lsuc.on.ca/
 
my "friend" has to read the insurance policy on his bike tonight, but is there a possibility that as he was insured on his other vehicle(a motorcycle), that he would have been covered while temporarily using the scooter?

Much like how say car insurance may cover you if you're over a certain age and using a different vehicle temporarily?
 
evang said:
So... my "friend", who only has an M1, let his insurance policy expire on his scooter when he got his bike last year.

Well turns out his plate was dirty and partially obscured. Cop pulled up beside him right as I was dropping her off.
Click to expand...

Everyone else see the "I" in the second sentence! ... LOL

Nice!
 
I know from past experiences with bike insurance, two insurance companies would not let me stop insuring my bike until I PROVED that the bike was insured by another company or I provided a written request to terminate insurance. With Jevco I had to threaten to call the Ontario insurance ombudsman because I was taking a bike off the road, and insured my second bike with another company. If I did nothing, or told them nothing (neither renew or cancel, in writing), the insurance policy would continue and I would be billed accordingly. Insurance does not run out on the due date, provided you pay the premium after the fact. Auto-renew, negative option billing, call it what you like.

If your "friend" forgot, then this may apply. If your "friend" verbally or in writing canceled the policy, then you're in a spot of trouble.
 
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TorontoBoy said:
I know from past experiences with bike insurance, two insurance companies would not let me stop insuring my bike until I PROVED that the bike was insured by another company or I provided a written request to terminate insurance. With Jevco I had to threaten to call the Ontario insurance ombudsman because I was taking a bike off the road, and insured my second bike with another company. If I did nothing, or told them nothing (neither renew or cancel, in writing), the insurance policy would continue and I would be billed accordingly. Insurance does not run out on the due date, provided you pay the premium after the fact. Auto-renew, negative option billing, call it what you like.

If your "friend" forgot, then this may apply. If your "friend" verbally or in writing canceled the policy, then you're in a spot of trouble.
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Odd. Non-payment usually results in cancellation. While you may get some latitude for a late payment, they won't cover you indefinitely without payment. The OP's own post suggests that the lapse has been for some time:
.... let his insurance policy expire on his scooter when he got his bike last year.​
 
AdReNaLiNe99 said:
Everyone else see the "I" in the second sentence! ... LOL

Nice!
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At least he's on good terms with himself given the circumstances. I'd be hat'n! LOL!

Trying to wiggle your way out may just aggravate the J.P. You definitely need a good strategy. I don't know if honesty could get the court to drop the no insurance but keep the no passenger and obstructed plate. Probably better to try and get into Provincial court rather than circus court. See a lawyer.
 
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****.

well anyways, insurance has been procured and M1 exit test is booked for next week.

Hopefully the crown/JP show mercy on my "friend's" poor soul. I wonder what the chances would be of them considering droping the insurance and passenger charges and agreeing to an increased fine of $2000 for the dirty plate charge? :p
 
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turbodish said:
...The OP's own post suggests that the lapse has been for some time:
.... let his insurance policy expire on his scooter when he got his bike last year.​
Click to expand...

Whoops, I didn't read that. There's probably more to this story than revealed. I'll go back to standing in front of my electric fan now....
 
evang said:
Hopefully the crown/JP show mercy on my "friend's" poor soul.
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They will not. I guarantee it.

Get a letter from the insurance company showing that you were insured on the day you got the ticket. Plead not guilty, file for disclosure, read all the dumb stuff "he" said to the cop, and see if the letter from your insurance will fly.

When you get the letter scan it and post it so we can determine the best way to use it.

-Jamie M.
 
Just over a year later it's finally over and done with!

It took 11 months for "my friend" to get the all of the disclosure. Was hoping it would take longer, but once that dashboard cam video and audio came in, all hopes of a charter motion were out the window. Still could have been attempted, but wasn't likely to succeed.

The crown offered a deal. Drop the dirty plate and plead guilty to M1 violation and no insurance and take a 3000ish fine and 6 month suspension. Then offered to drop the M1 violation and dirty plate and take full 5K fine + 1k for that victim surcharge.

Eventually agreed to drop the dirty plate, drop the M1 violation and an $800 fine for no insurance. JP signed off on it today.

Not the ideal outcome, but could have been worse. Lesson learned for "my friend" ;)
 
Well, not too bad, it could have been a lot worse

Did you hire somenoe (legal representation)?
In other words, who represented you in court?
 
Yes, it certainly could have been worse. It would be nice if we could put together a 'registry' of traffic professionals, for people on the site, but I'm unclear on the logistics of it.
 
I hired Redline to represent me.

Expensive... not sure if it saved me any money in the end, or if the fact that I've got a baby on the way was what really helped. BUT, they were great to deal with and they defintely did everything they could to find a way to get it dropped. Just too much evidence against me in the end, and no loopholes to be found. The charter violation would have been risky. If it didn't work, i go to trial and would have been found guilty on all 3 charges. Not worth the risk.
 
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