The other night someone lent me his car. I only drove a couple km and was pulled over because of a burnt out headlight. I check my car's signal and head lights every couple weeks but I didn't check this car. I was given a $115 ticket.

I was curious about what else is in the regulation so I searched the internet for the Alberta "Vehicle Equipment Regulation". The section number on the ticket I was given does not exist in the regulation.

Is it true that if a ticket is not completed correctly that it does not have to be paid? Has anyone had experience with this? I wonder if the officer was giving me a chance to get out of it because I'm not the person who should be maintaining the car.

That said the lesson is check all of the lights when you borrow someone else's car.

The part that confuses me is in the past I have noticed a burnt out light. I drove to the store and bought a new one but didn't put it in until I got home. In that case I suppose I should still get a ticket but I had a new bulb in the car. I wonder what happens in that case. (I keep a spare 1157 and 1156 in my RX-7 in case I notice a light out when I'm not home.)

 

a$$ho!e cops with nothing better to do!
the right thing to do would have been to inform you that there is a problem
give you a warning.
I had window tint on the side windows of my rx, it was put on by the last owner and
i will admit it was to dark, when i will stopped by the police about it they were going to
give me a ticket but i convinced them that i would pull it off.
he gave me a warning ticket to appear at the police station within 10 days
to show that it was removed or he would send me a ticket.
matt

 

The thing is YOU were pulled over.NOT the owner.They Issue a ticket to the Driver,not the Owner of the Vehicle..I know it sucks...On the Other hand If you Think the Officer has made a Mistake in Filling the ticket out,I would run it past an Attourney,or someone that know the Law...It could have been Worse.You could have Borrowed the Guy's car and He had 2 Kilos of Coke in the Trunk!(bummer!)

 

If the ticket has your name or license number recorded in error you just go down to Rockly Mountain plaza and see someone without even going to court and you are off. That being said, if you go there and all is correct, tell them your sotry and it will likely get reduced anyway without even going to court. Been there, done that.

 

I went down to Rocky Mountain Plaza. (It is right next to the Olympic Plaza train station). There was a short line up for a bunch of wickets. I think it said "honourable justice representatives" or something above them. (These wickets are past the cashier wickets.)

I said something like "I have this ticket, er offence notice, and I don't think the section number exists in the Vehicle Equipment Regulation". The lady took the ticket and went away. I could see her talking to someone in the back. Then she went off elsewhere out of my view for a few minutes.

When she came back she stamped the ticket a with a couple stamps and said that the the ticket had been "withdrawn" and that the officer would be notified. I asked what I had to do next and she said I didn't have to do anything "unless the officer contacts you".

I didn't ask how likely it was that the officer would contact me or what would happen then. So for now I am assuming I don't have to pay the ticket.

By the way I agree with you Matt that a warning would have been appropriate. If the point of tickets is to encourage safety then a warning for something minor like this seems to be a good idea. Without a warning it seems more like a cash grab than concern about safety.

When I talked to the vehicle owner I asked if he knew about the headlight. He said "yeah, I had that fixed last week when they changed the oil". He checked his receipt and it turns out they didn't charge him for the light. It looks like the shop forgot about the light and never fixed it. So that lesson is always check that the work you asked the shop to do was done.

 

I think the cop has like 6 months to "re-issue" the ticket if they so please.

 

but you cant be charged/ticketed twice for the same offence. on top of that 1 burned out headlight isnt a ticketable offence. both lights would have to be burned out for him to even think about giving you a ticket. dumb *** cops like that give the rest of them a bad name.