Province Cracking Down on Dangerous Driving to Protect People on Ontario Roadways

As part of a package of legislative changes to be introduced later today, the Ontario government will introduce tough new measures to crack down on dangerous drivers in Ontario. Many of the measures being introduced are in response to the “Andrew’s Law” petition, in memory of Andrew Cristillo, a father of three who was killed after being struck by a driver charged with dangerous and stunt driving. These changes include measures that would impose a lifetime driving ban for anyone convicted of dangerous driving causing death and introduce new roadside licence suspensions for dangerous driving behaviour.

“No family should ever face the heartbreak of losing a loved one or the trauma of a life-changing injury because of a dangerous and careless driver,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation. “These proposed changes will deter reckless behaviour, hold offenders accountable and make our roads and highways safer.”

Following Mr. Cristillo’s death, his family launched the “Andrew’s Law” petition calling for tougher penalties for dangerous driving and increased driver education. In response, the government is proposing measures that will:

• Impose a lifetime licence suspension for anyone convicted of dangerous driving causing death.
• Allow police to immediately suspend a driver’s licence for 90 days and impound a vehicle if they have reason to believe a person is driving dangerously.
• Increase fines and vehicle impoundment periods for driving with a suspended licence:
  • First offence: 14-day vehicle impoundment and $2,000–$10,000 fine
  • Second offence: 30-day vehicle impoundment and $5,000–$15,000 fine
  • Third and subsequent offence: 45-day vehicle impoundment and $10,000–$20,000 fine
• Introduce a new seven-day roadside licence suspension for careless driving and a 30-day suspension for careless driving causing bodily harm or death. Fines would also increase to $1,000–$5,000 (up from $400–$2,000) upon conviction for careless driving.
• Enhance road safety education for young and novice drivers.
• Increase fines to double the current amount and impose longer licence suspensions upon conviction for distracted driving while operating a commercial vehicle:
  • First offence: seven-day suspension and $1,000–$2,000 fine
  • Second offence: 14-day suspension and $1,000–$4,000 fine
  • Third and subsequent offence: 60-day suspension and $1,000–$6,000 fine
• Increase minimum fines for speed limiter offences on commercial vehicles from $250 to $1,000, including operating a commercial vehicle without a functioning speed limiter.

The government is also exploring measures to crack down on dangerous driving and support family members of those killed by impaired driving. This includes consulting on measures that would make impaired drivers who cause the death of a parent or guardian responsible for financial support of the victims’ children.

Ontario’s roads have ranked among the safest in North America for 25 years, with one of the lowest fatality rates per 10,000 licensed drivers. Last year, the province announced stricter measures against impaired driving, including a lifetime driver’s licence suspension for anyone convicted of impaired driving causing death, and the mandatory installation of ignition interlock for anyone convicted of impaired driving.

Quick Facts