Inquiry: I got stopped yesterday because the local police received a call saying that I had run through a stop sign. They asked for my papers, and my drivers licence was okay (but they were unable to find it in their computer
system, for some reason), my registration was still valid, but my insurance was expired by 1 1/2 weeks.The police officers told me they would have to impound the car for 30 days, and that I would receive a ticket for the expired insurance. It’s not really a big deal, but they let me walk from where they pulled me over, and told me they would drop off the ticket at my residence. It’s the next day, and i haven’t received the ticket yet. I see my car in the fenced in parking lot at the local police station, and its a really quiet town, the police aren’t that busy over here on weekends. Could this be considered ‘unreasonable delay’?. Also, the police officers said once i show up at the local police station with proof of insurance, they’d give me my car back, regardless if it was still in the 30-day impoundment timeframe. Can they do this ?
Response: Without seeing the Officer’s notes, it is not possible to comment upon their reasonings for the vehicle impoundment or what section of law the impoundment was based upon. However, if a charge of DRIVE M/V – NO INSURANCE is to be issued, the penalties are very servere. On a first offence, fines range from $5,000 to $25,000 (plus the 25% VFS), and a maximum one year suspension of licence can be ordered. The Officer has up to one year from the offence date to issue a charge under the CAIA. Once you have been issued your summons, I would recommend contacting our office via our toll-free number 1-866-801-8299 to review your case.
Sincerely,
Greg Currie
Office Manager (London)