Failure to yield —
ss.136(1)(b), 139(1)
Of every charge in the Highway Traffic Act, this is the one that rests most completely on a single person's judgment. There is nothing to measure. No speed, no distance, no device. An officer decided that another road user had the right of way and that you did not give it to them.
That is worth sitting with before you pay it.
Situation | Section | Points |
|---|---|---|
Failing to yield to a pedestrian at a crossover
| s. 140 | 4 |
Failing to yield after stopping at a stop sign | s. 136(1)(b) | 3 |
Entering a roadway from a driveway or private road
| s. 139(1)
| 3 |
Failing to yield at an uncontrolled intersection
| s. 135
| 3 |
Why is it important to defend these charges?
Three demerit points is the visible cost. The real one: if the ticket came from a collision, a conviction reads almost like an admission of fault and insurers treat it that way. Pair that with an insurance claim from the same incident, and the two compound each other, hitting your premiums harder than either alone.
That's why this ticket is worth defending, not paying reflexively especially since the charge rests on an officer's judgment call, not a device reading.
Fighting it
Disclosure will show the officer's notes, any statements taken, any diagram drawn, and — critically — whether the officer witnessed the events or attended afterward. Where a collision is involved, independent evidence often exists that was never gathered: dashcam footage, nearby business cameras, other witnesses.
Compare pleading, early resolution and trial once you know what is actually in the file.
Vertex Legal Solutions is licensed by the Law Society of Ontario. General information, not legal advice.
