How Many Demerit Points for a Speeding Ticket?

 

Many clients often wonder about the number of demerit points they’ll receive for a speeding ticket. In Ontario, the demerit point system is structured based on the speeding ticket’s severity and what we’ll refer to as the “quantum” – the substantial number on the speeding ticket.

Understanding the Quantum

The quantum represents the difference between the speed limit and the actual speed at which you were caught. It’s essential to be aware that there are different classifications for speeding tickets, and most insurance companies classify them as minor infractions. Minor tickets generally don’t cause significant concern for most clients.

Minor Speeding Tickets

The speed ranges for minor speeding tickets vary according to the speed zone you’re in. Here’s what you need to know:

• Speeding up to 15 kilometers over the limit: Zero demerit points. There are no demerit points for tickets where you were 15 kilometers per hour over the limit or less.

Intermediate Speeding Tickets

The situation changes when you’re caught exceeding the limit by a greater margin. Specifically:

• Speeding between 16 and 29 kilometers over the limit: Three demerit points. Although you won’t find the number of demerit points on your traffic ticket, you can inquire by contacting OTD Legal.
• The range between zero to 15 over the limit is considered a minor ticket. Generally, there’s no need to be overly concerned about demerit points at this level.

Major Speeding Tickets

For significant speeding violations, the consequences escalate:

• Speeding between 30 and 49 kilometers over the limit: Four demerit points. Similar to minor tickets, you won’t find this information on your ticket. It’s wise to consult experts like OTD Legal to get precise details.

Extreme Speeding Tickets

When the officer cites you for extreme speeding, exceeding the limit by 50 kilometers or more, it becomes a serious matter:

• Speeding 50 kilometers or more over the limit: Six demerit points. Tickets with four to six demerit points fall into the major category. These have implications for your insurance rate and can affect your employment, especially if you’re a professional or Uber driver.
• In cases of a six-point speeding ticket, the discussion often shifts towards the potential of being charged with stunt driving. This is a common tendency for officers when dealing with extreme speeding violations.

 

In summary, the number of demerit points you’ll receive for a speeding ticket in Ontario is determined by the extent you exceeded the speed limit. Understanding the demerit points associated with your ticket can be crucial, and for precise information, it’s advisable to consult experts in the field.

For more information, please visit some of our related posts, videos and pages:

• How to fight a speeding ticket
• 5 Myths about Speeding Tickets in Ontario
• Should I fight an over 50 KM/HR speeding ticket?
• Do Speeding Tickets Go On Your Criminal Record?
• Can you fight a speeding ticket that has been reduced?

Video Transcription:

Many clients wonder how many demerit points they’re going to receive for the speeding ticket that they hold. In Ontario, we have a structure for demerit points. That relates to the speeding ticket itself and the actual what I’m gonna call the quantum. So the big number on any speeding ticket.

So the big number relates to the difference between the speed limit and the actual speed. So what you need to be aware of is that there is a range of speeding tickets that we consider to be minor. Most insurance companies consider those to be minor and in most cases, clients do not need to be terribly concerned with what’s called a minor ticket.

There is a range of speeds and that would be, I’ll simply say that we’re at whatever speeds zone you’re in. If that range of speed is up to 15 kilometers over that limit that demerit point is zero. There is no demerit points for any ticket that you are 15 kilometers an hour over the limit or less.

It changes the moment the officer decides that you were doing 16 kilometers over the limit, right up through 29. So in a speeding ticket where the range over the limit is somewhere between 16 and 29, you would know at that point in time that you have three demerit points. Many clients also ask, well, I don’t see that on my traffic ticket, it’s not here. And that’s true, and it never has been. They do not put the demerit points on the ticket. You have to do your own research by calling, calling Service Ontario or calling OTD Legal and we would tell you right away or simply doing a Google search.

But the first range is zero to 15 over the limit, that’s zero points. The next range, 16 to 29. So what I’m saying in it, in those ranges, I would consider that to be a minor ticket. And on those tickets, generally speaking, I mean, I don’t know everyone’s record, but I would have to look into that and figure out whether we need to be concerned. But the general rule of thumb is we do not need to be concerned at those levels regardless of whether or not there’s points on there or not.

It changes the moment an officer now writes 30 kilometers over the limit, right up to 49, so it’s a larger range, so 30 to 49 kilometers over the limit. That is considered to be a four point ticket. Again, you will not find that on the ticket. It’s not available for you. You’d have to do your own research to do that. Easiest thing to do is obviously to call a company like my own, which specializes in this type of work. We’re gonna know instantly exactly what that would be.

The next sort of demerit point increase is for any tickets above 49. So the moment the officer writes 50 kilometers or more over the limit, we now know it’s a six demerit point ticket. So for any ticket that is between four and six demerit points, I’m going to call those major tickets. Major tickets are the ones that they affect your insurance rate. They can also affect, ironically, your employment if you’re an Uber driver or a professional driver, they’re obviously of great concern. As we get into the six point speeding ticket, we also have to start talking about sort of the next move the police officer makes, which, you know, over the last several years when they get that high, instinctually, the officers seem to be gravitating to what’s called stunt driving. Stunt driving, manifesting from simply being too fast.

That’s what I think any client that calls me and asks these types of questions about the demerit points on a speeding ticket, that’s what they need to know. It’s based on the amount of speed over the limit.