e. You have an excellent chance of never going to trial or being convicted: In 2006, the Attorney General threw out over 24,000 traffic tickets because it took too long to schedule a trial. These were drunk driving, speeding and other traffic offences, even parking tickets. And all any of those 24,000 people had to do was line up for 15 minutes and write their name and address on a form.

In Parry Sound, a cottage community north of Toronto, city officials did not enter hundreds of Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) tickets into the provincial computer system. These tickets went unpaid for years. Drivers' licenses that should have been suspended were not. ^[1]

In the 2007 provincial election the Premier promised to introduce a new provincial holiday, Family Day on February 18. Across the province court dates had already been scheduled for February 18, 2008. The Premier won the election, created the holiday and all those tickets scheduled for trial on February 18 had to be thrown out because court officials now had the day off. ^[2] The City of Toronto alone threw out over 1,100 charges that were scheduled for trial on Family Day. Again, all any of those thousands of people across the province had to do was write their name and address on a form.

This is not unusual. It happens often. It has been going on for a very long time. By the end of the year 2000, the Attorney General tossed out 10,000 tickets. ^[3] By 2006 it was over 20,000 tickets. The trend is getting higher and higher. With only 3 percent actually fighting their tickets, the courts are already overwhelmed. If more and more people fought their tickets, the better chance everyone would have of never going to court or paying traffic taxes. Think of fighting your ticket as a civic duty.

1. See "Traffic tickets held in two-year backlog", CBC News, March 16, 2004.

2. "Family Day a field day for scofflaws”, Robert Benzie, Toronto Star, January 17, 2008.

3. See Trevor Hache; Toronto Star; Aug 18, 2000; pg. A.01.