Ticketed for Driving with an M1 at night. | GTAMotorcycle.com

Ticketed for Driving with an M1 at night.

sieg777

sieg777

Active member
Hey guys, sort of in a situation right now and was wondering if you guys would be able to help me out.

On Sunday morning at around 1am, I was coming back from a friend's place, wasn't violating any traffic laws, and two cops pulled me over for having an M1 (they said they had pulled up behind me, checked my plates/associated ownership, and pulled me over from driving with an M1 at night.

How this happened was my girlfriend and I were at my friend's house at Islington and Dixon, and I had parked my bike outside his apartment. Around 7:30pm, I wasn't feeling to good/started to feel tired so I dozed off. Next thing I know I wake up and its 12:30am. Aside from realizing I was already ****ed because I was past the hour, the last thing I wanted to do was leave my bike parked overnight in that area as I've known people who have had their cars/bikes stolen in that neighbourhood. My girlfriend only lived over at Kipling and Albion, so she offered to let me store my bike in her garage and then I would just drive home in the morning. Of course, a cop happens to drive by, decides to run my plates, and ticket me 2km away from where I was going to store the bike.

The sad part about it is that I got my M2 activated this morning. Never driven at night before.

I tried to explain the situation to the cops, but aside from being extremely rude to me when I wasn't trying to contradict them or argue, they wouldn't even bother to let me explain what happened, and as I quote them, they didn't happen to "give a ****" about it.

I just was wondering if this is even worth fighting. It was a one time thing that happened because I didn't know what else to do, and I wasn't intentionally out late. What are your suggestions? Should I take this to court, meet with a prosecutor, or just plead guilty and pay the fine. Ultimately, I don't really care about the fine payment, its really the effect its going to have on my insurance -___-

Thank you in advance.
 
Not riding at night is a condition of your learner's permit and it can be suspended, for breaching the conditions. I'm not sure how that would effect your M2, as you didn't have it at the time of the infraction, but they could conceivably suspend it for cause. I think that you pretty much HAVE TO fight it.
 
sieg777 said:
Hey guys, sort of in a situation right now and was wondering if you guys would be able to help me out.

On Sunday morning at around 1am, I was coming back from a friend's place, wasn't violating any traffic laws, and two cops pulled me over for having an M1 (they said they had pulled up behind me, checked my plates/associated ownership, and pulled me over from driving with an M1 at night.

How this happened was my girlfriend and I were at my friend's house at Islington and Dixon, and I had parked my bike outside his apartment. Around 7:30pm, I wasn't feeling to good/started to feel tired so I dozed off. Next thing I know I wake up and its 12:30am. Aside from realizing I was already ****ed because I was past the hour, the last thing I wanted to do was leave my bike parked overnight in that area as I've known people who have had their cars/bikes stolen in that neighbourhood. My girlfriend only lived over at Kipling and Albion, so she offered to let me store my bike in her garage and then I would just drive home in the morning. Of course, a cop happens to drive by, decides to run my plates, and ticket me 2km away from where I was going to store the bike.

The sad part about it is that I got my M2 activated this morning. Never driven at night before.

I tried to explain the situation to the cops, but aside from being extremely rude to me when I wasn't trying to contradict them or argue, they wouldn't even bother to let me explain what happened, and as I quote them, they didn't happen to "give a ****" about it.

I just was wondering if this is even worth fighting. It was a one time thing that happened because I didn't know what else to do, and I wasn't intentionally out late. What are your suggestions? Should I take this to court, meet with a prosecutor, or just plead guilty and pay the fine. Ultimately, I don't really care about the fine payment, its really the effect its going to have on my insurance -___-

Thank you in advance.
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so what happen did you get to drive bike home or did you have to park it ?
 
Suspension? The cop made me leave my bike in the nearest parking lot, and told me to get it in the morning and ride home. Did I get charged less than what I even should have then?
 
sieg777 said:
Suspension? The cop made me leave my bike in the nearest parking lot, and told me to get it in the morning and ride home. Did I get charged less than what I even should have then?
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It's not an immediate suspension, but rather a possibility after the judgment. That's why I said I didn't know how they would handle it, given that you got your M2 immediately afterwards.
 
Sorry, I am slightly confused. They wrote on the ticket that the reason was "Unlawful hour w/ regards to M1 restrictions" and fined me $110 as max payable. Are you saying that if I were to follow through with any of the options, that my licence would be potentially suspended? The cops never made any mention of that to me...
 
Fight it, fight it, fight it. Like your license and insurance depend on it. Because they do.

You can't be suspended on this violation alone. http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/driver/demerit.shtml
"Correction", a Novice Driver (G1, G2, M1, M2) will receive a 30 day suspension for a
  • convicted of violating any of the graduated licensing conditions;
  • are convicted of HTA offences that result in 4 or more demerit points; or,
  • receive a court-ordered suspension for an HTA offence that would have resulted in 4 or more demerit points


When you get to the court house, look out for the officer. Cops who don't usually issue traffic violations often don't appear at court for a single charge. Get the disclosure in advance (there are other threads on this forum that will explain how). When your case is called, the Crown will indicate if they are ready to proceed. If they are, make sure you have an excuse in advance to re-schedule (time to review disclosure, review with counsel, have your own witness present).

Build reasonable doubt. Have all your paperwork ready for trial, when you passed your course, the certificate you received, the date your new license was issued, etc.

Good luck.
 
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Hey Major, thanks for the info. I am going to request a meeting with the Prosecutor and if that fails, then I'll proceed with a court trial (I believe that if you cannot settle a resolution in a meeting, you still are entitled to take it to court). I was looking at the demerit system, although i can't seem to see where the listing is for violating a licence restriction. How many points is that equal to? The only thing I have on my record is going 18 over in a 50 zone about a month ago (in a car) >.<

I guess I have 3 + whatever this is :[
 
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No, at 1am Sunday morning, when I was pulled over, I was still on my M1. This morning, being Monday, I took my envelope from the Humber Gearing Up program to the DriveTest center and had my licence upgraded to a G2M2
 
Talk about bad timing, sorry to hear that!
 
Oh man. On Saturday night I was in a similar situation and rode my bike home around midnight. I'm on my M1 too but have already passed the M2 test through Humber. Just waiting for the 60 days to expire (in 2 weeks).

I really got lucky then. Didn't think the cops would put in the effort. And the funny thing is, when I passed by Streetsville there were like 4 cop cruisers and 3-4 cops on bicycles outside a pub organizing the crowds.

I'll be leaving my bike parked after 9:30pm going forward for the next two weeks!!

Let us know how this pans out.
 
Thanks for the support everyone, I really hope this doesn't end up in a suspension/insurance rates going up. Being 20 years old and paying for my own policy, its already bad enough haha.

It's funny because, the initial reason I wasn't on the road at the time I was going to ride back at was because I felt tired/sick and didn't want to be riding home under those conditions. I guess cops would prefer you drive with an impairment rather than waiting it out. I don't understand how they could expect me to just ditch my bike in an area notorious for vehicle theft, under a small slip up. But whatever, hopefully the prosecutor is forgiving, or the court deems it not as severe.

I think what bothers me most about this situation is that while I am fully aware I violated a condition of my licence, and yeah I did make the decision to drive instead of ditching the bike, I have NEVER had a bad experience with a cop before this. The way they acted/treated me was just an embarrassment to my whole perception of police officers. It was pathetic.
 
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TheNewDude said:
Oh man. On Saturday night I was in a similar situation and rode my bike home around midnight. I'm on my M1 too but have already passed the M2 test through Humber. Just waiting for the 60 days to expire (in 2 weeks).

I really got lucky then. Didn't think the cops would put in the effort. And the funny thing is, when I passed by Streetsville there were like 4 cop cruisers and 3-4 cops on bicycles outside a pub organizing the crowds.

I'll be leaving my bike parked after 9:30pm going forward for the next two weeks!!

Let us know how this pans out.
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Yeah man...just don't drive through Rexdale haha. These guys were just looking for a reason to pull people over, given their extremely belligerent attitude. But I guess now I can say it isn't worth risking it.
 
sieg777 said:
Hey guys, sort of in a situation right now and was wondering if you guys would be able to help me out.

On Sunday morning at around 1am, I was coming back from a friend's place, wasn't violating any traffic laws, and two cops pulled me over for having an M1 (they said they had pulled up behind me, checked my plates/associated ownership, and pulled me over from driving with an M1 at night.

How this happened was that I drove when I shouldn't have.
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Fixed. Sorry to be blunt, but that's what happened.

sieg777 said:
Suspension? The cop made me leave my bike in the nearest parking lot, and told me to get it in the morning and ride home. Did I get charged less than what I even should have then?
Click to expand...

Rob MacLennan said:
It's not an immediate suspension, but rather a possibility after the judgment. That's why I said I didn't know how they would handle it, given that you got your M2 immediately afterwards.
Click to expand...

Major said:
You can't be suspended on this violation alone. http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/driver/demerit.shtml
Click to expand...

This has nothing to do with a lessor charge, sentencing, points, the police, or the courts. It's a punishment levied by the MTO for being convicted of violating a condition of graduated licensing. The kicker is that the 30 day suspension also applies to your other licenses (ie; your G license).

Fighting this will be difficult as it will be easy to prove that you were;

- on a highway
- licensed as an M1 rider on the date in question,
- riding after 1/2 hour after sunset

Once those facts are proven beyond reasonable doubt, the JP will have no option but to convict, and it doesn't matter that you got your M2 the following day. Once the conviction is registered, the MTO will suspend your license(s).

I would DEFINITELY seek a meeting with the Crown to see if any other resolution would be available that would prevent a JP from having to make a decision on the matter.

Although you could always go with the much-touted "cop won't show up" gamble... but you're gambling with a 30 day suspension and the insurance hike that will come with it.

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/driver/gradu/index.shtml#escalating
 
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sieg777 said:
It's funny because, the initial reason I wasn't on the road at the time I was going to ride back at was because I felt tired/sick and didn't want to be riding home under those conditions. I guess cops would prefer you drive with an impairment rather than waiting it out. I don't understand how they could expect me to just ditch my bike in an area notorious for vehicle theft, under a small slip up. But whatever, hopefully the prosecutor is forgiving, or the court deems it not as severe.
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I guess they would prefer you make alternate arrangements instead of willfully violating the conditions of your graduated license.
 
coyo said:
I guess they would prefer you make alternate arrangements instead of willfully violating the conditions of your graduated license.
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All I am saying is that I wasn't senselessly riding at night because I enjoy violating laws. I got stuck out in a situation I wasn't sure what to do in. I had a reason for my actions...
 
sieg777 said:
All I am saying is that I wasn't senselessly riding at night because I enjoy violating laws. I got stuck out in a situation I wasn't sure what to do in. I had a reason for my actions...
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you had reasons, just not a good reason, and certainly not a lawful reason.

Unfortunately this is a huge ticket, the suspension can wreck your insurance for years. you better fight it.
 
3 options were

- run the risk of getting caught by cops and getting a ticket (without getting suspended): CHECK
- drive when not feeling alert during 'legal time period' and risk getting in an accident because of that
- run the risk of maybe getting your 6-year-old-250cc bike possibly stolen and getting it paid by insurance... and not affecting your premium

in the LONNNNGGGG run, 3rd options sucks, but when you look at all these things

option 2 was worst
option 1 was risky but unlawful
option 3 was safest bet for your record :)

*goes back to his time machine blueprint*
 
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