September 2015 Archives

Ontario recently amended their driving offence legislation, in the Making Ontario's Roads Safer Act, to increase the fines for a handful of driving offences. The changes are significant in that in two of them demerit points were added to sentences of two offences that prior did not have them: distracted driving and "dooring of cyclists." The distracted driving offence, for example being on your cell phone. Prior to September 1^st this offence had a fine range of $60-$500, but now there is a mandatory fine of $490 as well as three demerit points. The "dooring" of cyclists used to have a sentence range of $60-$500 fine, but now bears a mandatory fine of $365 and three demerit points. Another change is that drivers must leave a one-meter distance when passing cyclists, with failure to do so resulting in a fine of $110 and two demerit points. More changes are expected to be coming in January 2016.