Can You Lose Your License for Speeding in Alberta?

Can you lose your license for speeding in Alberta? It’s a question that pops up a lot. Getting a speeding ticket is expensive and can affect your driver’s record, but in most cases, a single speeding ticket won’t result in a suspended license. Pick up a few in a short time period or get caught for excessive speeding, though, and a license suspension is a possibility.

Here, we’ll explore whether you can lose your license for speeding in Alberta, including the situations where it is possible and how you can avoid losing your right to drive.

Key Takeaways

• Demerit points can add up quickly, and getting 15 in a two-year period leads to a suspended license.
• If you’re caught going more than 51 km/hour above the speed limit, it’s at the discretion of the court whether you’ll lose your license for a period.
• Fighting every speeding ticket is the best way to ensure you don’t get a demerit point suspension and lose your license for a stretch.

When Can You Lose Your License for Speeding in Alberta?

For most speeding tickets, you’ll receive a fine and demerit points assigned to your driver’s record. If it’s your first speeding ticket, you don’t need to worry about a license suspension unless you were caught going more than 51 km above the speed limit, which qualifies as excessive speeding and has more serious consequences than most tickets.

Generally speaking, there are only a few situations where a speeding ticket would lead to a license suspension:

• If you’ve picked up 15 demerit points in a two-year period
• If you receive another demerit point suspension within a year
• You were caught for excessive speeding, which can lead to up to a 90-day suspension

Understanding License Suspensions for Speeding in Alberta

What happens when you get a speeding ticket in Alberta? As we’ve noted, a single speeding ticket generally isn’t going to result in a license suspension. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have real repercussions, though. A speeding ticket comes with a fine and demerit points, but there are hidden costs, like the increased insurance premiums you are likely to have to pay.

The penalties increase progressively the more you are caught exceeding the speed limit. Here’s what to expect:

• 1 km/hour to 15 km/hour over speed limit: 2 demerit points and a fine between $81 and $126
• 16 km/hour to 30 km/hour over speed limit: 3 demerit points and a fine between $146 and $249
• 31 km/hour to 50 km/hour: 4 demerit points and a fine between $250 and $495
• 51 km/hour or more: 6 demerit points, mandatory court appearance, and fines at the discretion of the court

Demerit Point Suspensions

It’s important to know how many points it takes to lose your license in Alberta because they can add up quickly and result in you losing your license for a period of time. That means it will be harder to get to work, to appointments, or to school. If your job requires that you drive a vehicle, you may also be unable to go to work.

Demerit points remain on your driving record for 2 years and can affect insurance premiums, even if they don’t result in a license suspension. For drivers with full (non-GDL) licenses who do get a couple of tickets in a two-year stretch, though, you will receive:

• A cautionary notice informing you of how many demerit points you’ve received if you have more than eight but fewer than 15.
• An automatic license suspension of one-month if you receive 15 Alberta demerit points in a two-year period.
• A second demerit point license within a year will result in a 3-month license suspension. A third will be six months long.
• When your license is reinstated after a suspension, seven demerit points remain on your record for two years.

Remember, driving with a suspended license is a serious offence and should never be done.

Excessive Speeding Suspensions

If you are caught going more than 51 km/hour over the speed limit, you’ll face an expensive fine and an automatic court appearance, where it’s at the discretion of a judge whether your license should be suspended. The consequences can be grave, with one driver who was recently convicted for going 163 km/hour in a 100 km/hour zone receiving a $1,200 fine and a 21-day license suspension.

You will be allowed to drive until your court appearance, but that could change if organizations like the Calgary Firefighters Association lobby for law enforcement to have the power to immediately impound a vehicle or suspend a driver’s license for excessive speeding. That’s the rule in every other province in the country.

Why You Should Always Fight Speeding Tickets

Getting one speeding ticket may not seem like a big deal, but it can have serious consequences. Demerit points add up fast and can lead to your license being suspended, so it’s best to avoid them wherever possible.

Hiring a traffic court expert like the team at We Defend gives you the best chance of beating the charges or seeing them reduced. That can lead to reduced fines and prevent demerit points from appearing on your driving record, which, in turn, can keep your insurance premiums down and help you avoid a suspended license.

Avoid Losing Your Right to Drive

Losing the ability to drive can be disastrous, and demerit points mean that when people ask, “Can you lose your license for speeding in Alberta?” the answer is often yes if you’ve picked up a few tickets in a short time period. Our expert team at We Defend gives you the best chance of avoiding fines and demerit points on your record. We’ll look over the evidence and help lower the penalties you face.

Book a free consultation today.

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