I Got a Ticket for Not Stopping at a Stop Sign
….But I Did!

That’s a statement we hear all the time from people who call in about their stop sign ticket.  They say, “I pulled up to the stop sign, I stopped… and then I turned right. There was no traffic coming from either direction. Did I not stop long enough?”

 

How Long Do I Stop at a Stop Sign?

Contrary to common belief, there’s no 2 or 3 second rule for stopping at a stop sign. Police are looking for your wheels to fully lock up when you stop. If they didn’t do that, you didn’t really come to a complete stop. There’s no time clock but be very deliberate when you stop at the stop sign and you’ll be just fine.

Does a Stop Sign Ticket Affect Insurance?

As far as your insurance goes, a stop sign ticket is a minor violation on your Alberta driving record. If it’s your only ticket in the last three years you should be safe from a rate increase.

Insurance problems begin when you start adding your stop sign ticket to other little minor tickets… you’ll agree it gets pretty disturbing…

  • 2minor violations in 3 years: 25% - 50% increase

  • 3 minor violations: 35% – 100% increase

  • 4 minor violations: 50% – 200% increase

  • 5 minor violations: 75% – 400% increase

  • 6 minor violations: 100% – 800%

  • 7 or more minor violations in 3 years: double the immediately preceeding percentage for each additional conviction

What About Running a Stop Sign Demerit Points?

When it comes to demerit points for failing to stop at a stop sign, in Alberta you’ll receive 3 demerits along with a $405.00 fine payment for your momentary error.

Want to learn more about the impact of demerit points on your Alberta driving record?

Visit our 2023 Alberta Demerit Points List page for demerit amounts on stop sign demerit points and all kinds of traffic violations with a wealth of other information about demerits like how demerits affect insurance, demerit suspensions, how to get demerits back, and more…

Can You Fight a Stop Sign Ticket?

If you ran a stop sign and caused an accident, it’s one of our favourite violations to defend. No, not because we take joy in your misfortune, but there is often a strong case available for a Stop Sign charge from an accident. It’s common that witnesses give conflicting versions of what happened and that opens the door for a winning defence.

We can’t make the insurance increase of an at fault accident go away, but we can affect the violation that lands on your driving record so your insurance company doesn’t double dip and charge you even more on your next bill.

So if you find yourself facing a stop sign ticket after you’ve been in an accident, it’s definitely a good decision to contact us for a free consultation.

If that stop sign ticket is less dramatic… more like the story about the right turn mentioned above, we can often get that violation changed to a lighter weight ticket with a smaller fine and only 2 demerits. Every little bit helps so contact us now and we’ll discuss the solution with you.