Traffic tickets issued under Alberta’s Traffic Safety Act do not result in criminal records but licence suspensions, demerit points, fines, and large insurance premium hikes can create severe difficulties.

Whether you’re accused of speeding, distracted driving, careless driving, failing to stop, stunting, racing, or another offence, we can help you challenge your ticket, but you must work quickly.

You only have 30 days

You have 30 days from the day you receive the ticket to dispute it.

We are primarily criminal defence lawyers but we can also help protect your driving record and licence.

Our track record is supported by:

  • Over 140 5-star Google reviews.
  • The Consumer Choice Award (2025,2026).
  • BBB A+ rating.

Issued a traffic ticket in Edmonton? Here’s what to do now:

  1. Don’t admit fault. Simply accept the ticket without comment.
  2. Don’t pay the fine: This is essentially the same as pleading guilty.
  3. Note the date: You have 30 days from the date of receipt to dispute it.
  4. Call a traffic offence lawyer: Your lawyer will begin working on your appeal.

Contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation.

Testimonials

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“Ahmed is the best, and I recommend him to anyone. I am very happy and grateful for his service and professionalism. I give him 5 stars, but he deserves more than that!”

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How can we help you dispute a traffic ticket in Edmonton?

The investigation associated with a provincial traffic ticket typically takes 10 to 15 minutes. The fines, lengthy driving suspensions, and insurance premium increases impact lives for a lot longer and should usually be disputed.

What’s the difference between red and yellow traffic tickets in Alberta?

Yellow tickets have a specified fine and can be resolved by paying, disputing, or requesting a trial at the Alberta Court of Justice. Examples of offences include: 

  • Speeding (up to 50 km/h over the limit).
  • Failing to stop at a red light or stop sign.
  • Distracted driving.
  • Failing to yield.
  • Improper lane change.
  • Seatbelt violations.
  • Following too closely.

Red tickets require a mandatory court appearance, regardless of whether you intend to plead guilty. Ignoring a red ticket will result in a warrant for your arrest. Examples of offences include: 

  • Speeding 51 km/h or more over the limit.
  • Careless driving.
  • Racing or stunting.
  • Driving without a valid licence.
  • Driving while suspended or disqualified.
  • Driving without insurance.

What happens after you receive a ticket?

If you are pulled over and issued a provincial traffic ticket in Edmonton, you generally have three options:

  1. Pay the fine by the deadline.
  2. Dispute the ticket by requesting a hearing before the deadline.
  3. Do nothing, which results in a default conviction and fine.

A traffic offence lawyer from Strategic Criminal Defence will challenge evidence and work to reduce the penalties to protect your driving future and defend your record at your hearing.

Police officers often make mistakes when writing traffic tickets. Other defences are outlined below but the first obstacle to navigate is the 30-day appeal window.

Your Strategic Criminal Defence lawyer will:

  • File the request for a hearing via the Justice Digital portal.
  • Prepare the evidence in your defence.
  • Talk to the prosecutors about lowering your fines or charges if the evidence is weak.
  • Represent you at the hearing in traffic court.

Traffic court is open Monday to Friday at the Law Courts Building, 1A Sir Winston Churchill Square NW, Edmonton.

Depending on your alleged traffic offence, we typically argue one of the following defences:

DEFENCE HOW IT WORKS EXAMPLE
Due Diligence You took all reasonable steps to avoid the offence, the same as a reasonable person would in the same circumstances. Your tire pressure monitoring system malfunctions silently, causing undetected underinflation that affects your vehicle's speed accuracy.
Mistake of Fact You held an honest, reasonable, mistaken belief in facts which, if true, would have made your conduct lawful. You turn into what you genuinely believed was a two-way street, but a construction diversion had temporarily changed it to one-way without visible signage.
Necessity You were forced to break the law to avoid immediate, serious bodily harm or death, with no reasonable alternative available. You run a red light at 2am to avoid a driver who has been aggressively tailgating and attempting to force you off the road.
Faulty Equipment The Crown's evidence is unreliable because the radar, laser, or other device was miscalibrated or improperly tested. The officer's laser speed gun had not been tested at the start of the shift as required, making the recorded speed reading unreliable.
Unreasonable Delay — s. 11(b) If the time between the ticket and trial is unreasonably long without defence-caused delays, the charge may be stayed. You receive a speeding ticket in January and are not given a trial date until the following spring, through no fault of your own.
Fatal Procedural Error A fundamental clerical error on the Certificate of Offence renders the ticket legally invalid. The officer records your vehicle as a motorcycle when you were driving a passenger car, or lists a statute that governs commercial vehicles.
Identity/Lack of Proof The Crown cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were the person operating the vehicle at the time. Your vehicle was caught by a photo radar camera, but the registered owner was out of the country at the time, and the driver cannot be identified.

For criminal driving offences, where the stakes are extremely high, we will often engage expert witnesses to challenge the Crown Prosecutor’s claims. However, for traffic tickets, this is not usually necessary.

What are the main traffic ticket penalties?

The main penalties for traffic ticket offences are:

OFFENCE DEMERIT POINTS FINE * LONG-TERM IMPACT
Speeding (1–15 km/h over)
(TSA s. 115(2)(p))		 2 $105–$164 Insurance: Minor increase at renewal.
Speeding (16–30 km/h over)
(TSA s. 115(2)(p))		 3 $190–$324 Insurance: Moderate increase; may lose Good Driver rate cap.
Speeding (31–50 km/h over)
(TSA s. 115(2)(p))		 4 $343–$774

Insurance: Significant increase; loss of Good Driver rate cap.

Licence: Possible short suspension.
Speeding (51+ km/h over)
(TSA s. 115(2)(p))		 6 Fine at the judge's discretion (mandatory court appearance).

Insurance: Severe increase; high-risk classification possible.

Licence: Immediate 7-day roadside suspension; vehicle seizure.
Careless Driving
(TSA s. 115(2)(b))		 6 $852

Insurance: Severe increase; possible high-risk classification.

Licence: Possible suspension.
Racing
(TSA s. 115(2)(c))		 6 $852

Insurance: Severe increase; high-risk classification likely.

Licence: Immediate roadside suspension; vehicle seizure.
Stunting
(TSA s. 115(2)(e) and/or (f))		 6 $852

Insurance: Severe increase; high-risk classification likely.

Licence: Possible suspension; vehicle seizure in serious cases.
Distracted Driving (phone/device use)
(TSA ss. 115.1–115.4)		 3 $390+ Insurance: Moderate-to-significant increase.
Failing to Stop at Red Light / Stop Sign
(TSA s.109)		 3 $388 Insurance: Moderate increase.
Failing to Yield
(TSA s. 100)		 2 $233 Insurance: Minor-to-moderate increase.
Following Too Closely (Tailgating)
(TSA s. 115(2))		 2 $233 Insurance: Minor increase.
Improper Lane Change
(TSA s. 115(2))		 2 $233 Insurance: Minor increase.
Failing to Wear Seatbelt
(s. 90 of the Use of Highway and Rules of Road Regulation (Alta Reg 304/2002))		 0 $211
Driving Without Insurance
(TSA s. 54(1)(a))		 0 $2,875 minimum, up to $10,000

Insurance: Coverage may be cancelled entirely.

Licence: Possible suspension.

Possible jail time if you fail to pay the fine.
Driving While Unauthorized
(TSA s. 94(2))		 0 $2,000+

May be uninsurable.

Licence: Extended suspension; possible vehicle seizure.

Possible jail time if you fail to pay the fine.
Accumulated Demerits (15+)
(Alta Reg 331/2002)		 — —

Insurance: Significant increase.

Licence: Mandatory suspension (1 month at 15 points, escalating).

*The fine amounts reflect current Alberta fines as of June 2026. Fines may change and vary with surcharges.

How much will your insurance premium increase?

The insurance premium impacts in the above table are indicative only and vary depending on:

  • The insurer.
  • Your driving history.
  • Whether the conviction falls within the ‘Good Driver’ rate cap eligibility period (currently, a conviction within the past three years disqualifies).

If you’ve been issued a traffic ticket in Edmonton, immediate legal assistance from a Strategic Criminal Defence will aim to limit the impact on insurance premiums and your finances.

FAQs

Missing the deadline results in a default conviction: you are automatically found guilty without a hearing. You will owe the full fine plus a potential administrative fee, and the conviction and demerit points are registered against your licence. In limited circumstances, we can file a late dispute if you were unaware of the conviction and can demonstrate a reasonable excuse.

Yes. Dangerous driving, street racing, and impaired driving are Criminal Code offences, not provincial traffic violations. What begins as a traffic stop can result in criminal charges carrying imprisonment, a criminal record, and a mandatory driving prohibition.

Not automatically. Licence suspension depends on the severity of the offence and your demerit point total. Accumulating 15 or more points triggers a mandatory suspension, as do certain serious offences such as speeding 51+ km/h over the limit. New drivers in the Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) program have a lower limit (8 demerit points) before they lose their licence.

Demerit points remain on your driving record for two years from the date of conviction. The conviction itself may remain on your abstract for longer, and insurance companies typically look back three years when calculating your premium.

Often yes, particularly for tickets carrying 3 or more demerit points. A successful dispute avoids demerit points, protects your insurance premiums, and preserves your Good Driver rate. Legal fees are frequently offset by long-term insurance savings. In general, the more serious the ticket or the consequences of the ticket, the more important it is for you to consider hiring a lawyer to help you challenge it.

Parking tickets and other ‘registered owner’ offences carry no demerit points because they are issued to the registered owner of the vehicle and not to the driver. Also, they do not affect your driving record, your insurance rates, or, if the vehicle ticketed was a commercial vehicle, your National Safety Code Profile (or “Carrier Profile”). Therefore, it may not be cost-effective or necessary to hire a lawyer for these tickets.

Traffic agents typically don’t (and need not) have a law degree. Indeed, they need not have any legal training at all. They have no duty to act in your best interest and are not governed by any provincial Codes of Conduct. Traffic offence lawyers in Edmonton, on the other hand, are licensed and supervised by the Law Society of Alberta and are subject to professional standards and scrutiny.

Get help challenging your traffic ticket in Edmonton

If you’ve been issued a traffic ticket, a lawyer from Strategic Criminal Defence will:

  • Review your case to identify the strongest arguments to challenge the ticket.
  • Gather key evidence to support your defence argument.
  • Guide you through the appeal process and represent you in front of the judge.

Having defended such cases in Edmonton traffic court for a decade, we know how to build a defence to minimize the impact on you.

Contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation.

Verified By: Michael Oykhman, Senior Criminal Defence Lawyer

Last Modified: August 11, 2026

Michael Oykhman is a senior criminal defence lawyer and the founder of Strategic Criminal Defence, a leading firm with offices across Western Canada and Ontario. With nearly 20 years of legal experience, he has appeared at all levels of court in Alberta, including the Supreme Court of Canada, and has successfully defended thousands of clients.

Experience

  • Proven Results: Successfully managed over 10,000 criminal cases, experience in complex matters such as impaired driving, domestic violence, and sexual assault.
  • Strategic Problem Solver: Trained as a trial lawyer but recognized for his experience in alternative resolution strategies, often securing the best outcomes for clients without a case ever going to trial.
  • Multi-Jurisdictional Authority: Licensed to practice law in Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan.

Education & Academic Leadership

  • Education: Holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Calgary.
  • Academic Distinctions: Recipient of the Crown Association Prize (top grade in criminal law) and was the first-ever finalist for the University of Calgary at the Gale Cup Moot.
  • Teaching & Mentorship: Currently serves as the Advising Lawyer for Student Legal Assistance and is a sessional instructor at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law, teaching Advanced Criminal/Constitutional Appellate Advocacy.

Credentials & Recognition

  • Top-Rated Advocacy: An 8-time recipient of the Three Best Rated® Top Criminal Defence Lawyer of the Year award in Calgary.
  • Professional Memberships: Active member of the Criminal Trial Lawyers Association (CTLA) and the Criminal Defence Lawyers Association (CDLA) of Calgary.
  • Connect with Michael: Bio | LinkedIn | Firm Office: (403) 719-6410