Tickets. Tickets. Tickets. That seems to be all I have been hearing about these days. It's true that during the month of May the police carried on a reasonably well publicized vehicle safety campaign. During that time the police were particularly vigilant and cracked down on traffic offenders. It is part of an ongoing campaign to reduce automobile accident fatalities and get us used to driving properly once again.

There is a natural tendency for us the poor winter battered Canadians to celebrate the arrival of spring with a more carefree attitude towards our driving. After all, the snow, ice, and slush are finally gone from our streets and we can begin to drive our cars with a bit of spring in our step.

Unfortunately, the spring in our step often translates into a lead footed approach to driving. We seem to feel that since the pavement is finally dry and we will not be slipping on the ice, we can drive as fast as we want to. May's police safety campaign was to remind us that the law applies equally during all four seasons.

Peter, of course was not immune to spring fever. Although he wouldn't be taking the sports car out from winter storage until at least the middle of May, he still managed to push his 4x4 over the speed limit on his way to work a few weeks ago. Whether it was because of the safety campaign or just because he was unlucky enough to be caught, Peter heard the familiar sound of sirens and saw police flashing lights in his rearview mirror.

He knew the drill. He signaled that he was pulling over to the right. He carefully checked his lanes to make sure that he would not cause an accident and slowed down coming to a stop in the breakdown lane on the side of the Highway. He waited in his car for the police officer to finish his computer check of his license plate before coming over to him.

With a cordial smile, the cop asked Peter for his driver's license and registration. Peter knew that he had been caught but reasoned that he was only going 10 km in our over the speed limit. He politely asked the police officer to give him a warning instead of a ticket.

The cop returned to his cruiser and checked out Peter's license. It revealed a series of speeding tickets and the fact that Peter had accumulated eight demerit points out of the allowable 15. The cop figured that Peter had been warned enough and had been caught speeding too many times in the past. He gave him the ticket which included demerit points, a fine, and a surcharge.

Peter accepted the ticket with equanimity. He did realize that he had been in the wrong even if it was by only 10 kph.

When he got home he carefully reviewed the ticket to see if there was any legal loophole that might allow him to escape payment of this fine. He noticed that his ticket had two spaces left blank that were ordinarily filled in whenever he had received a speeding ticket in the past.

The number of demerit points was empty as was the direction he was heading on the Highway. He asked me if he had a chance. I reminded him that the ticket must have all the important facts reported accurately. The facts that were written on the ticket were accurate. However two boxes were indeed empty.

Although this might not be sufficient to have the ticket canceled it was worth giving it a try in court. When he came before the judge a funny thing happened. The police officer was actually there to give testimony. He advised the court that he was conducting a routine operation against speeders and had caught Peter dead to rights with his laser machine.

The police officer testified that Peter was traveling eastbound on Highway 401 at 110 kph. He had been duly tracked by laser where his speed was verified as the over the limit. The police officer pulled him over and the rest was history.

Peter asked to see the court copy of his ticket. To his surprise he noticed that the eastbound direction and the number of demerit points both appeared to be filled in on that copy. Since the court copy was supposed to be a carbon copy of his own it seemed to Peter that the officer must have filled in the missing data on his ticket after he gave it to Peter.

Peter raised this issue before the judge. Peter further suggested that if his ticket had been tampered with to add missing information, the speed could just as easily have been tampered with as well.

While the judge did not really believe that the speed had been changed on his ticket he did agree that the ticket had been tampered with after it was given to Peter. Since Peter is entitled to the benefit of the doubt, the tampered ticket raised enough of a doubt in the judges mind to acquit Peter.

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This article is of a general nature and may not be applicable in all situations and jurisdictions.If you have a legal problem or need legal advice please consult a lawyer.

Jordan W. Charness, DSC, B.A., L.L.L, is a partner in Charness, Charness and Charness,a family law firm in Montreal that has specialized in giving personalized service to its clients since 1925. Jordan is also a car nut. His current ride is a fully restored SilverAnniversary Corvette, and he is a member of the Corvette Owner's Club.His web sites are www.jordanwcharness.com and www.charness3law.com e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it