AUTO CLUB: July 2021

Thursday, 1 July 2021

Changes to Ontario stunt driving laws include stiffer penalties

Thunder Bay police hope new rules, which come into effect July 1 will act as a deterrent

CBC News

Posted: 3 Hours Ago

Thunder Bay police hope changes to Ontario's stunt driving laws, which include stiffer penalties, will act as a deterrent.

The changes officially came into effect on July 1, 2021, and include a number of changes.

Now, anyone caught driving more than 40 km/h over the posted speed limit on a road with a speed limit of 70 km/h or lower can be charged with stunt driving.,

"This targets our residential streets," Thunder Bay police acting traffic Sgt. Sal Carchidi said. "Predominantly, where we see these speeds would be like on a four lane road, where it's still a very residential area, still accessed by cyclists, pedestrians, but just the appearance of the road would lead to a driver to maybe think they could stretch the speed limit a little bit more."

"Any posted speed limit is the maximum, not five kilometres over, not 10 kilometres over, and especially not 40 over."

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In addition, anyone charged with stunt driving will now have their vehicle impounded for 14 days, Thunder Bay police said.

The new rules also increase penalties for those convicted of stunt driving. For first-time offenders, those penalties may include:

A minimum fine of $2,000 (maximum $10,000).
A jail term of up to six months.
Six demerit points.
A driver's licence suspension of at least one year, and up to three years.
A requirement to take a driver education course.

Repeat offenders could also see longer licence suspensions, with a lifetime suspension being imposed after a fourth offence.

And another change is coming in the fall, Carchidi said, when anyone charged with stunt driving will receive a roadside driver's licence suspension of 30 days (currently, drivers receive a seven-day roadside licence suspension).

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"We don't want to see collisions," he said. "We don't want to see anybody hurt as a result of a collision. The posted speed limits are there for a purpose."

Motorists travelling more than 50 km/h on roads with a speed limit of 80 km/h or more can also be charged with stunt driving.

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