Ontario Passes Improved Road Safety Legislation - June 2, 2015

Press Release “New Rules Will Help Reduce Collisions, Injuries and Fatalities”
June 2, 2015 12:30 P.M. – Ministry of Transportation(MTO).

Today, Ontario passed the “Making Ontario’s Roads Safer” Act to help make Ontario’s roads among the safest in Canada and the United States.

In order to reduce collisions, injuries and fatalities on Ontario’s roads, the new act will:

  • Increase penalties for distracted driving from the current range of $60 to $500 to a range of $300 to $1,000, assign three demerit points, and increasingly onerous penalties for new drivers
  • Drug Impaired drivers will be treated the same as Alcohol Impaired drivers.
  • Increase penalties to repeat alcohol impaired driving offenders.
  • Drivers must wait for pedestrians to fully cross the road at pedestrian crosswalks and school crossings.
  • More penalties for failure to leave one-metre of space when passing bicycles and increased penalties from “dooring”.
  • Deny licence plates for drivers with unpaid fines.
  • Allow more types of medical professionals to deem you unfit to drive.

The new fines and measures will come into force over the coming months.

The new legislation builds on existing provincial road safety legislation.

Quick Facts:

  • Fatalities from distracted driving already exceed those from drinking and driving.
  • 20% of deaths are to pedestrians and 46 per cent happen at intersections.
  • 45 per cent of drivers killed in Ontario have drugs and/or alcohol in their system.

Quote: – from Steven Del Duca – Minister of Transportation

“Ontario’s roads are among the safest in North America and this new legislation is intended to keep it that way. I look forward to continued collaboration with our law enforcement and other dedicated road safety partners to implement these measures.”