How to Read a Traffic Ticket in Alberta

When you get a traffic ticket, your first instinct is probably to look at how much you’ve been fined. That doesn’t tell you the whole story, though, and when you know how to read a traffic ticket, you can identify other areas of the ticket that may help you beat a traffic ticket. An Alberta violation ticket is a short, mostly administrative document, and four or five fields will tell you what you’re facing and whether to fight it.

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Key Takeaways 

• The section number is the most important part of the ticket. It identifies the exact offence you’re charged with under the Traffic Safety Act and determines how many demerit points a conviction carries.
• Demerit points aren’t printed on the ticket, so the section number is the only way to know what a conviction will cost your licence.
• If there’s no fine listed, there’s nothing to pay and a court appearance is mandatory. That doesn’t always mean the offence is more serious, since officers can remove the payment option at their discretion.
• The response deadline gives you three options: pay, dispute, or do nothing, which counts as pleading guilty. The ticket itself is only the allegation, and the evidence behind it comes later through disclosure.

How to Read a Traffic Ticket in Alberta: Explained

The Section Number Is the Type of Ticket You Received

The most important part of your traffic ticket is the section number, usually printed below your contact information. It identifies the specific provision of the Alberta Traffic Safety Act you’re accused of breaking, and it has to name both the enactment and the exact section.

What does the section number on my ticket mean?

The Amount & Whether There Is One

A ticket may or may not include a specific fine. Here’s what both possibilities mean:

There’s an Amount Printed

If your ticket has a specific fine attached and the amount is written, you can pay it immediately. Section 3(2) of Alberta’s Procedures Regulation states that any offence with a specified penalty of $1,000 or less under Part 3 of the Act carries a payment option.

This is the most common result for speeding tickets and other traffic tickets like failing to stop at a stop sign or red light. It is worth remembering, too, that while these fines can be paid, that doesn’t necessarily mean you should pay them immediately. Tickets can also come with hidden costs, including higher insurance premiums and demerit points. It is almost always worth fighting them.

There’s No Amount 

If your ticket lists no amount, it means there’s nothing to pay at that time, and the matter proceeds under Part 2 of the Procedures Regulation, so a court appearance is mandatory. Tickets for failing to remain at the scene of an accident or driving with a suspended license both require a court appearance, so it’s best to contact a traffic court expert as soon as possible to start preparing a defence.

The Date

Your ticket will include a response deadline, giving you the option to plead guilty and pay by that date or inform the court that you intend to plead not guilty and fight the ticket. Essentially, you have three options:

• Pay the ticket and accept the demerit points on your record and subsequent increases in insurance premiums
• Dispute the charges and fight the ticket in court
• Doing nothing, which is effectively the same as pleading guilty, as you will eventually have to pay the fine before you renew your licence

When There’s a Summons Instead

In some cases, the police officer who issues your ticket may decide to remove the payment option. This can happen even for offences that you’d normally expect to be payable, like speeding or not stopping at a stop sign. Under s4(1) of the Procedures Regulation, the officer needs to consider several factors before issuing a summons:

• the seriousness of the nature or consequences of the offence
• the number of previous convictions and outstanding fines
• the number of outstanding proceedings already commenced
• whether the licence is from outside Alberta

Again, this means that just because you got a ticket without a payable amount, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the offence is more serious. In some cases, it’s the officer exercising discretion.

The Officer’s Notes Are Not on the Ticket

This point is key to understanding how to read a traffic ticket: The ticket is the allegation, not the evidence behind it. The ticket is just the allegation itself, and everything that backs it up will not be in it. 

Evidence like notes and observations from the officer or device records will ultimately determine whether the allegation holds up in court, and you can request it in disclosure once you’ve informed the court you’ll be fighting your traffic ticket.

What to Check Before You Decide Anything

Once you know how to read a traffic ticket, before you decide to fight your ticket or pay the fine, go through this checklist and consider each point:

• Is the section number the same as what you were told roadside by the police officer?
• Does the offence described match what actually happened?
• Does the ticket list a fine amount, or does it require an appearance?
• What is the response date?
• Are there multiple counts?

Fight Your Traffic Ticket with We Defend

If you can’t figure out how to read a traffic ticket in Alberta, our team at We Defend is here to help. Send a photo of every page, including the front and back of your traffic ticket, and our team of traffic court experts will explain what it is.

For your free review, contact us today.

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