If you go back in the history books you will find that there has been public opposition to changes to motor vehicle offences over the years. Things that we now take for granted as just a normal part of driving a vehicle were once the subject of a lot of controversies.
Take, for example, this video interviewing some ordinary American citizens about impaired driving laws that were first introduced in the United States. These attitudes towards consuming alcohol and driving are something we would never see today, and would never be condoned by our society.
However, these reactions were common when these laws were first introduced. When it came to seatbelts, the same attitudes prevailed.
People were resistant to wearing a seatbelt while behind the wheel. However, if you ask any driver who has been driving for the last 20 years or less, whether they put on a seatbelt, everyone will tell you that it is effectively an automatic reaction.
Despite this, seatbelt tickets seem to be surprisingly common. It is not clear why, but some people are resistant to wearing seatbelts.
There are some circumstances that make sense, for example, people who are engaged in delivery and pick-up frequently, do not want to wear seatbelts because they are constantly getting in and out of their car and putting on and taking off a seatbelt can take a significant amount of time.
There are some exceptions in the MVA for people who are engaged in deliveries to not wear a seatbelt, although they do not apply to all individuals who engage in this type of behaviour.
So, people who are not wearing their seatbelts, and are not subject to an exception, can be ticketed for the seatbelt offence and, as we said, they are surprisingly common.
The question that comes from it is can you fight a seatbelt offence? And like any ticket, you absolutely can. You have 30 days from the day it is issued to you to file in dispute, at which point a court hearing will be scheduled and you will have to attend court to try and dispute the ticket.
Thankfully the consequences of a seatbelt offence are not significant and do not include any driver penalty points, only the fine and entry on your driving record.
For most people, it is probably not worth fighting a seatbelt ticket. But there have been instances where a pattern of violations related to seatbelts has triggered a discretionary driving prohibition from the Superintendent of motor vehicles on the basis of the driver’s apparent inability to follow the law and the need to correct that behaviour.
So accumulating a number of seatbelt offences can put you at risk of a driving prohibition.
In other circumstances keeping a clean driving record, even if it is just as simple as not wearing a seatbelt, can be important for people in obtaining employment or in maintaining their employment.
So there is an incentive to fight the offence, even if it does not attract any penalty points and is not as serious as a fine.
When seatbelt offences go to trial, the Crown must present their case first, which means the officer must testify, and be asked about their observations and how they determined that you were not wearing a seatbelt.
In most circumstances, the determination of whether or not a driver is wearing a seatbelt is not made in a way that allows the officer a clear line of sight into the driver’s vehicle. Most of the time the officer is driving in their own vehicle behind the driver’s vehicle and making their observation through the rear window.
The absence of a good vantage point to determine whether or not a person is wearing their seatbelt is something that can assist in successfully defending these cases. A skillful cross-examiner will inquire about the officer’s ability to make observations of the seatbelt and what the officer saw when they got to the window. They will also ask about the circumstances in which they made those observations as they were walking to the window because these questions can lead to reasonable doubt, even if you were not actually wearing your seatbelt.
As we know, it is possible for officers to be mistaken in their observations, and so there are people who are ticketed for seatbelt offences who were in fact wearing their seatbelts at the time of the incident.
In those circumstances, you would need to testify to establish that you were wearing a seatbelt, and again to put your version of events before the court.
The last situation involves those exceptions we talked about, under the MVA. If you are a person who qualifies for an exception to the seatbelt law, the burden falls on you to prove you are subject to the exemption.
You have to provide the evidence necessary to satisfy the court on a balance of probabilities that you were exempt from wearing a seatbelt. This would again require you to testify.
So, if you are fighting a seatbelt offence, and you were either wearing your seatbelt or you believe you are exempt for some reason, you should plan to attend your court hearing and give evidence in your defence.
Ultimately, seatbelt offences may seem straightforward, but they are not always as they seem. One thing is clear though, you can fight a seatbelt offence, and if it has the potential to have any impact on your employment, or your right to drive, you should.
