A traffic ticket feels minor until you see what it actually costs. Demerit points accumulate, your insurance premiums climb, and your driving record follows you for years. When you fight traffic ticket charges rather than just paying, you keep options open: charges withdrawn, reduced to a lesser offence with fewer demerit points, or dismissed entirely. Frouhar Law defends drivers facing traffic violations in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario.
Tel: 613.238.2000
Most drivers who receive a traffic ticket simply pay the fine and move on. However, paying the fine is a guilty plea under the Highway Traffic Act and it puts demerit points on your record and signals a conviction to your insurer. The HTA fine on the ticket is the smallest part of what you pay.
Every Ontario driver starts with zero demerit points. Under the demerit point system, points accumulate on conviction and remain on your record for two years from the date of the offence. New drivers on a G1 or G2 licence face a 60-day suspension at 9 or more demerit points. Fully licensed drivers face a warning letter at 9 points, an interview at 12 points, and a 30-day suspension at 15 demerit points or more.
A single careless driving or stunt driving conviction adds 6 demerit points at once, threatening your driving privileges immediately. A traffic ticket lawyer can negotiate a reduction to a lesser offence to keep your point total below the suspension threshold.
A traffic conviction does not stay between you and the court. Insurers review your driving record and treat convictions as evidence of risk. A single speeding conviction can raise your premiums by 15 to 25 percent. A careless driving or stunt driving conviction can trigger increases of 50 percent or more, and those insurance rates stay elevated for three years from the date of conviction.
For many drivers, the insurance premium increase over three years is five to ten times the cost of the original fine. A successful defence, or a reduction to a lesser charge with fewer demerit points, protects both your driving record and your insurance rates.
Don’t pay the fine before speaking with a lawyer. A guilty plea is permanent.
Frouhar Law represents clients facing traffic tickets and provincial offence charges in Ottawa and across Eastern Ontario. Whether the allegation involves speeding, careless driving, stunt driving, driving while suspended, or another Highway Traffic Act offence, early legal advice can help you understand the risks before you pay the ticket, attend court, or make decisions that could affect your licence, insurance, and driving record.
Founding partner Mash Frouhar is a former Crown Attorney who understands how prosecutors approach driving-related offences, including officer notes, roadside evidence, disclosure issues, identification, and Charter concerns.
Frouhar Law provides traffic ticket defence in both English and French. From the first consultation to disclosure review, court appearances, and negotiations with the prosecutor, clients receive clear explanations in the language they are most comfortable using.
Traffic-related charges can arise suddenly after a roadside stop, collision, licence suspension, or police investigation. Frouhar Law’s availability means you can contact a defence lawyer before making statements, missing deadlines, or accepting consequences you may not fully understand. Your right to legal advice matters before you decide how to respond.
When you receive an HTA ticket in Ottawa, the Provincial Offences Act gives you three paths.
Most clients represented by Frouhar Law never need to appear in court personally.
A traffic ticket lawyer reviews Crown disclosure (the officer’s notes, the certificate of offence, calibration records for any speed measurement device, and video) and identifies the strongest available defence.
Common grounds include:
In many cases, the result is a reduced charge or charges withdrawn, and no court appearance required from you.
Mash Frouhar, a former Crown Attorney, understands how Ottawa prosecutors evaluate HTA cases.
These factors are not presented as excuses. They are presented as context: the context without which a sentence cannot genuinely be proportionate or just. A sentence imposed without understanding the circumstances that shaped the offender’s life is not a sentence that achieves the purposes of the Criminal Code.
Frouhar Law defends clients charged with Highway Traffic Act offences across Ottawa and Eastern Ontario. Whether you received your ticket on Highway 417, in a community safety zone, or anywhere else in the region, our lawyers review the evidence, identify available defences, and represent you at the Provincial Offences Court.
Speeding is the most common HTA charge in Ottawa. The demerit points and fines increase with how far above the speed limit you were travelling, from 3 demerit points for 16 to 29 km/h over to 6 demerit points for 50 km/h or more over the limit. Fines are doubled in community safety zones near schools and parks.
Many speeding tickets are successfully challenged on the basis of a technical defect on the ticket, inaccurate speed measurement, or problems with the radar or laser equipment used by the officer. Your speeding ticket lawyer reviews the disclosure, checks the officer’s notes, and identifies whether the evidence supports the charge.
Stunt driving is Ontario’s most serious traffic offence. A stunt driving charge is typically triggered by driving 40 km/h or more over the limit in a 100 km/h zone, or 50 km/h or more over the limit elsewhere. It results in an immediate 14-day roadside licence suspension and a 30-day vehicle impoundment before any finding of guilt.
On conviction, penalties include a minimum one-year licence suspension, fines up to $10,000, and 6 demerit points. A stunt driving charge requires immediate legal representation.
Distracted driving (holding or using a cellphone or other handheld device while driving) carries 3 demerit points and a fine of $615 to $1,000 for a first offence, escalating to $3,000 and a 30-day licence suspension for a third or subsequent offence. The insurance premiums consequences often exceed the fine itself.
Challenges to distracted driving charges turn on what the officer observed and whether the evidence supports the specific elements of the offence.
On conviction, penalties include a minimum one-year licence suspension, fines up to $10,000, and 6 demerit points. A stunt driving charge requires immediate legal representation.
Careless driving under section 130 of the Highway Traffic Act is one of the most serious non-criminal driving charges. A conviction carries 6 demerit points, fines up to $2,000, a potential licence suspension of up to two years, and possible jail time in the most serious cases.
Because careless driving requires proof that the accused drove without reasonable consideration for others, the charge is frequently reduced or withdrawn following defence review of the evidence.
Frouhar Law also defends clients charged with:
Where a traffic stop also produces impaired driving charges in Ottawa, our lawyers handle both matters.
Commercial drivers facing CVOR implications should contact us as soon as possible; a conviction that affects a CVOR record can have serious employment consequences beyond the standard demerit and fine framework.
Frouhar Law represents clients at the Ottawa Provincial Offences Court. You often do not need to appear in court yourself.
The mission is to ensure access to justice for all, regardless of income or social status, by providing high-quality, affordable legal representation and advice. The goal is to empower people to protect their rights and resolve legal issues efficiently and effectively.
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In most cases, no. A traffic ticket lawyer can appear at the Ottawa Provincial Offences Court on your behalf, represent you at a First Attendance or early resolution meeting with the prosecutor, and handle all court appearances without requiring your personal attendance.
You are generally only required to appear personally if the case proceeds to a full trial, and even then, your lawyer manages the proceeding.
It depends on the offence.
Demerit points remain on your Ontario driving record for two years from the date of the offence. Under the demerit point system, 9 points trigger suspension for new drivers, and 15 demerit points trigger a 30-day suspension for fully licensed drivers.
Yes. Many HTA charges are reduced to lesser offences with fewer demerit points, or charges withdrawn entirely, following review of the evidence and negotiation with the prosecutor.
Grounds include:
As a traffic offence lawyer Ottawa drivers rely on, Frouhar Law keeps all options open when you fight traffic ticket Ottawa charges before paying the fine.
