Archive for the ‘Stunt Driving Ticket’ Category

Ontario Stunt Driving Ticket

Thursday, October 9th, 2008

My cousin Jake was hopping mad because his license and vehicle were removed by police for something he claims he didn’t do, namely stunt driving, which earned him a nice fat Ontario stunt driving ticket.

Jake told me that he and his two kids were pulled over and issued an Ontario stunt driving ticket for traveling more than 50 kilometres over the speed limit, a stunt driving offence defined under Ontario’s new Stunt Driving Law that allows police to issue a stunt driving ticket and seize vehicles without proving the offences.
Jake and his kids found themselves stranded by the side of the highway in possession of an Ontario stunt driving ticket but not their license or vehicle.

“I’m a middle-aged family guy,” he said in exasperation, “not someone who’s out there racing his decrepit old Toyota van with teenage riff-raff. I don’t deserve an Ontario stunt driving ticket!”

Drivers accused of stunt driving have to pay the cost of towing and storing their vehicles for seven days and can end up with stunt driving ticket fines of up to $10,000 in Ontario.
There are eight different Ontario stunt driving ticket violations but the most common are excessive speeding, street racing and even tailgating. All come with an automatic seven-day impound.

Police claim that an Ontario stunt driving ticket is a great deterrent for reducing the incidence of serious injuries and deaths on our highways but the OPP seem to think that handing out a stunt driving ticket in Ontario is the best way to combine enforcement with education.
Is this a fair strategy? Ignorance of the law is no defence for sure, but I think a suitably in-your-face media blitz concerning the new Ontario stunt driving law would be a better solution that surprising not-so-with-it motorists like my cousin Jake with a stunt driving ticket.
But things are looking up for Jake. He apparently contacted the Traffic Ticket Advisory Services, a prominent Ottawa paralegal team, and they’re taking care of everything related to his Ontario stunt driving ticket. The prognosis is very good.
Parting words from Jake: “I got hit with an Ontario stunt driving ticket and suddenly I’m in the same league as street racing punks! Hell, I didn’t even get to enjoy the thrill!”

Why is stunt driving in Ontario such a pricey hobby since September 2007?

Thursday, September 18th, 2008
Because fines for a ticket when convicted in Ontario for stunt driving has multiplied tenfold in a single year. The minimum fine for a ticket has increased from $200 to $2,000. The maximum fine for a ticket has increased from $1,000 to $10,000, upon conviction for street racing, making it the highest penalty in Canada. Ontario has increased ticket fines dramatically so as to send a clear message; Ontario will not tolerate stunt driving and will issue hefty fines when convicted of stunt driving. In addition to the hefty fines, the maximum licence suspension, for a first time offender, is 2 years.

Note; if you receive a second ticket for stunt driving, within 10 years from the first stunt driving infraction, the courts in Ontario can impose a driver licence suspension for up to 10 years.

As you can see their message is clear, stunt driving in Ontario will not be tolerated.

BUT, what is stunt driving?

Stunt driving includes any activity where one or more persons engage in any of the following driving behaviours:

• Driving a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates an intention to lift some or all of its tires from the surface of the highway, including driving a motorcycle with only one wheel in contact with the ground, but not including the use of lift axles on commercial motor vehicles.
• Driving a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates an intention to cause some or all of its tires to lose traction with the surface of the highway while turning.
• Driving a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates an intention to spin it or cause it to circle, without maintaining control over it.
• Driving two or more motor vehicles side by side or in proximity to each other, where one of the motor vehicles occupies a lane of traffic or other portion of the highway intended for use by oncoming traffic for a period of time that is longer than is reasonably required to pass another motor vehicle.
• Driving a motor vehicle with a person in the trunk of the motor vehicle.
• Driving a motor vehicle while the driver is not sitting in the driver’s seat.
• Driving a motor vehicle at a rate of speed that is 50 kilometres per hour or more over the speed limit.
• Driving a motor vehicle without due care and attention, without reasonable consideration for other persons using the highway or in a manner that may endanger any person by, driving a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates an intention to prevent another vehicle from passing, or stopping or slowing down a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates the driver’s sole intention in stopping or slowing down is to interfere with the movement of another vehicle by cutting off its passage on the highway or to cause another vehicle to stop or slow down in circumstances where the other vehicle would not ordinarily do so, or driving a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates an intention to drive, without justification, as close as possible to another vehicle, pedestrian or fixed object on or near the highway, or making a left turn where, the driver is stopped at an intersection controlled by a traffic control signal system in response to a circular red indication; and at least one vehicle facing the opposite direction is similarly stopped in response to a circular red indication; and the driver executes the left turn immediately before or after the system shows only a circular green indication in both directions and in a manner that indicates an intention to complete or attempt to complete the left turn before the vehicle facing the opposite direction is able to proceed straight through the intersection in response to the circular green indication facing that vehicle.

Know this, in Ontario, the Act also bans driving a motor vehicle on a highway with a connected nitrous oxide system. Some street racers use nitrous oxide to enhance the acceleration capabilities of their vehicles. If caught a ticket will be issued and you will be facing steep fines.

Ontario has adopted Bill 203, which set those high ticket prices in order to decrease stunt driving on Ontario roads but also creates escalating sanctions for repeat drinking drivers with Blood Alcohol Concentration measuring 0.05 to 0.08.