'Not a lot you can fight,' Toronto mayor says of rule preventing drivers from taking speeding tickets to court

Traffic tickets may move out of court system The City is considering a move that would strip drivers of the ability to fight tickets given out by traffic cameras.

Toronto’s mayor says she supports a recommendation that would strip drivers of their ability to fight speeding tickets issued by cameras in provincial court.

“If you are speeding, you are speeding. There’s not a lot you can fight,” Olivia Chow said at an event on Saturday afternoon.

The city’s infrastructure and environment committee is set to consider a report that suggests individuals ticketed by a red light camera or automated speed enforcement camera would no longer be able to fight the fee in court.

Instead, those individuals would be directed to an administrative penalty system governed by municipal hearing officers.

This is the same system used for parking tickets.

Staff argue this will alleviate some pressure on the provincial system, which is already experiencing a backlog of cases, and move the city forward in terms of its Vision Zero commitment—a plan meant to significantly reduce traffic-related fatalities and injuries.

Council recently approved a directive to increase the number of speed enforcement cameras to 150 as part of this commitment.

Chow told CTV News Toronto the increase in speed cameras will help act as a deterrent to drivers skirting the rules.

“It will create much safer roads for everyone in Toronto,” she said. “It’s about saving lives.”

The report says any changes to the rules would impact tickets issued after Nov. 24.

With files from CTV News Toronto's Abby O'Brien