To the angry motorist, her insurer's actions defied both fairness and common sense. I recently got an earful from an irate driver who was ticketed by a police officer for an improper stop. She was so upset at the ticket -- for an offence she insists she didn't commit -- that she got rattled and couldn't find her proof of insurance in her glove box. So on top of the moving violation, she was cited for failing to provide proof of insurance, although she had valid coverage at the time.

Armed with a letter from her insurer verifying she indeed had insurance on the day in question, she went to court to defend herself on both violations. Trouble was, when she was making her case against the improper stop, she called the police officer a liar. At that point, the judge lost patience and found her guilty on both offences. Not only did she have to pay the applicable fines, but her insurer refused to renew her coverage.
The reason? The conviction for failure to provide proof of insurance was her third offence (along with a speeding ticket and the improper stop) in a short period of time. That caused her insurance premiums to soar from $125 a month to $300 a month, an increase of 140 per cent, although she's never filed an insurance claim.

This sorry tale has a few pointed lessons for consumers:

- Paperwork penalties: It's not just moving violations that can affect your insurance rates. Failure to produce certain documents can also boost your rates. Always make sure you have your driver's licence, vehicle registration, and insurance papers handy when you get behind the wheel.

- Grace under fire: Contrary to popular opinion, there is no legally mandated 48-hour grace period for motorists to produce proof of registration, licence or insurance. "There is this misconception that police officers must give you 48 or 72 hours to report with these documents," said Brian Lawrie, a former police officer and founder of the POINTTS ticket-fighting service. While police officers have the discretion to simply warn motorists rather than laying charges, motorists don't have the right to produce driving documents later.

- Attitude matters: If you're pulled over by police, save your arguments for court and keep your cool. Suggesting the police officer should be out chasing murderers -- not speeders -- will make you memorable for all the wrong reasons. Lawrie says police officers are more likely to keep copious notes for motorists perceived as troublemakers.
"You never want to make yourself memorable to the police officer," Lawrie says. The more meagre an officer's notes are, the greater the likelihood an officer will be at a disadvantage during a thorough cross-examination.

- Courting disaster: Motorists who are short-tempered and have little grasp of traffic laws can sabotage even a solid case.
"Even people who are normally in control, once they get into a courtroom, emotions can come into play," Lawrie says.
Although motorists might fear sky-high legal bills to fight an offence, some ticket agents (such as POINTTS) will offer free consultations to broadly assess cases and weed out sure-fire losers.
"The last thing we want is to run to court with a whole string of people who are obviously guilty and wasting everyone's time," Lawrie said.

- Losing hurts: Motorists need to look beyond the fine on the face of a ticket when deciding whether to fight it. The single mother cited at the beginning of this column --who didn't obtain any legal advice before heading to court because she couldn't "afford" it -- is now paying $2,100 a year more in insurance. If shelling out a few hundred dollars might save you thousands, consider expert help.

- Chasing copouts: Some motorists head to court simply on the hopes the police officer involved won't appear. However, Lawrie says drivers shouldn't put much stock in that.
"It's a duty for them and they have to appear," Lawrie said. "A police officer who doesn't show up without a proper excuse is liable to be disciplined and lose some pay."
A long time ago, when court schedules weren't kept in computers, errors and oversights were more likely. Automation has made such glitches rare.
"The days of police officers not showing up are far and few between."

- Beef relief: Many motorists are unaware every auto insurer in Ontario is required to have an in-house ombudsman dedicated to handling policyholder beefs. If you're getting stonewalled on an insurance problem, ask your insurer for the name of the firm's consumer complaint liaison officer (the formal title for the ombudsman).
You also can complain to Ontario's Insurance Ombudsman, part of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario. FSCO's phone number is 416-250-7250 or 1-800-668-0128.
The address is 5160 Yonge St., Box 85, Toronto M2N 6L9.
I recently spoke to a woman who was told her premiums would jump to $8,000 a year from $800 a year. She successfully fought the proposed increase through her insurer's ombudsman.