Ontario's Tough New Street Racing Law

wow! Sounds like they mean business there.

Great information!

In Hamilton, NZ they have had a similiar problem and they too have changed the laws to try and save some of these young petrol heads!Boy racers are every where, its sad that innocent people are killed in the process. A passionate article!

In June the Ontario Attorney General threatened to seize street racing vehicles and destroy them by crushing them but the threat didn't seem to make a difference. We are hoping this will.

Glad to see you back.

Interesting article. We have the same problem here but the police are far too soft on them!

Good for you guys! I wish our laws were as strict. I want to go on record as saying that Canadians are very friendly and courteous drivers.
we continually watch traffic run the signal light that's just north of our house...we have the absolute worst drivers anywhere!!

They need to do that here in New Jersey because we are going through the same thing.

Street racing must be common in most cities, I wasn't aware of that. We only hear of our own and think it is the only place it happens. They didn't do much about it until 4 people died in early summer this year. It's a shame that it takes the loss of lives before the authorities take action.

Hasn't anyone ever heard of "innocent until proven guilty"? Cops are not always honest and equipment is not infallible....if we allow instant punishment on this issue, who is to say instant jail time wouldn't be right for some offenses as well?

To me, this is a slippery slope that should have people angry on the principle of the matter and all of Canadians should be worried about their freedom.

Why would this upset you Dawn? When these kids set up race tracks on city streets with the intention of driving as fast as their cars will allow and the ink on their license isn't even dry yet....there is a problem. When they are driving 70 km over the speed limit and lose control for a fraction of a second that causes them to clip the front end of a tractor trailer flipping it and killing the driver, it is a problem. When they intentionally race down a residential street and smash into a car that kills both occupants instantly and leaves a small girl parentless, it IS a problem. Something has to be done. When you grow up you will look at things differently.

You are clearly a tool, do you not see anything? This targets not just street racers. Have you ever had to punch it to pass 79km left lane huggers? Probably - if you havent then you are the one driving in the left lane. The point it changing lanes faster along with other petty things is now classified as street racing. Its proven that drivers who drive under the limit or not with the common speed of traffic causes danger - theres more passing and more speed to get by them. The judgement is passed entirley onto the officer, not something you want unless they are in the vehicle with you. Nice try - its sad when idiots on ladders do think themselves "tall".

Please tell me why you would have to exceed the speed limit by 50 KM to pass a slower moving vehicle. It is unnecessary.

#11 is obviously not thinking. as #12 said (and great point!) why do you need to drive that fast to pass another car? Showing off comes to mind.

I do not understand why should everyone be thrown into the same bowl as those young stupid kids who have no idea how to drive their cars and live off movies like Fast and the Furious. Why are there less accidents in countries like Germany where there is NO SPEED LIMIT!! The problem is not speed it is irresponsable driving and Ontario should make getting your license a living hell as opposed to handing it to anybody who can keep in a straight line. With all these "laws" traffic will slow down to a halt and irresponsable kids will still speed and kill innocent people.

What would we do without them? Maybe you should all be politicians and do something about it instead of argue.

It seems no one can answer the question asked by #12.

To #14:
Germany has speed limits and they are all very very strictly enforced. As a matter of fact, Germany has more obscure and tough traffic laws then we do. What you are talking about it the autobahn, where there is still a speed limit imposed a lot of the times. Most of the time only the left-most lane has no speed limit, and even that is only in perfect driving conditions.

They have electronic signs that show speed limit, if any, at any point during the day. So if it rains there will be a speed limit imposed.

I do agree however that the speed is not the problem and never has been. The problem in inability to drive. Licensing in Canada is a joke, especially in Ontario. And if you want proof just drive around Markham for a day. Multi-tier system is great in theory, but when it's that easy to get you full G then why even bother with the system.

I believe that driving 150km/h in itself is absolutely safe on any major highway. If there is traffic you will obviously never get to that speed. If there isn't traffic there is nothing unsafe about driving that fast. The unsafe part on the highways is when people weave in and out of traffic at 150km/h.

This law is not only aimed at speeders. Changing lanes too quickly, drifting in traffic and stunt driving(pulling wheelies) will also result in the same "street racing" charge. These offences are not clearly defined and will be enforced at the OFFICER'S DISCRETION. This charge is not subject to appeal.
In a perfect world, racial, social and cultural profiling would not be an issue. In this world, and now particularly in this province they are a major issue. Passing by the wrong officer on the wrong day in slippery conditions will have you labeled a "street racer". Sorry, but Officer B. Day doesn't like the way you look or the car you drive. You will have your car impounded, liscence revoked and insurance rates skyrocketed. This will cost you tens of thousands of dollars if you continue to drive.
Think about drivers of high performance motorcycles and cars. Will they stop for the police knowing what the consequences will be? Not likely. I expect to see high speed pursuits increase drastically. Now that is a real danger.

Many years ago (back when the 400 series highways had 70 mph/125 kph speed limits) I worked for the dept. of highways. The design speed on the 400 highways was 100 mph (with 60's vintage cars). Its not speed that creates the problem - its the difference in speed and turbulent flow in the traffic.
In 1973 the German government did a study on the autobahn and found when they lowered speed limits the accident rate went up, but more importantly, when the speed limit was unlimited and 135 kph, the majority of the accidents (around 90%) involved vehicles doing less than 80. They attributed this to inattention due to the slow speed.

To 16 & 12
Highway 24, a tractor with half a dozen timid cars driving along at 2-30K. I can easily break 130 passing them. It seems to me that the smartest thing to do is minimize my time in that oncoming traffic lane.

This new law, does not reflect street racing...
this is a new way for gov the get more money fundings to its police force.
And the basic humain rights of behing inocent till proven guilty
in a court law will now be on the road... so police are now going to be the judge the jury and executioner... i am not living in canada anymore..

I guess you gave us a lot of "fuel" for thought. Your article was well written and had valid points, even if your readers are still debating. At least they are thinking, and maybe will drive more cautiously. We do not just drive our own vehicle, but have to anticipate what the other driver will do. Wow!

All points agreed on but everyone is looking at street racing like it something new.. Street racing has been going on forever your talking about people doing a dangerous sport I wonder how many rock climbers have died in the past 100 years I mean seriously I agree the getting your license in ontario Is a joke and that it seems like the let everyone drive these days you can't stop street racing not even street racing but speeding in general there will always be some one out there just wants to go a little bit fast I don't like politics so I couldn't say whether this is some gov thing to get money but speeding is going to be forever and there is not one person on this website that has not sped in there life it's all a matter of preference on how much speed you use everything in this world is dangerous maybe concentrating on drug use would be a more effective use of the goverments time?

I agree completely with #14. As a male 19 year old I can personally speak from experience. I admit that I do like going fast and on occasion I have exceeded the speed limit by more than 50 KM/H, but as "nonesense" said in post #14, the speed related accidents are due to reckless and irresponsible driving. Just because an individual is going fast does not mean they are driving recklessly. Personally, I have taken BMW Professional Driving Safety courses among numerous other driving courses, and I can guarantee that I have more control of my car going 180 Km/H than most "experienced" drivers have going 120 Km/H. Although I do like going fast, I am mature enough to know when it is acceptable and when it is not acceptable. Speeding through crowded streets is highly unacceptable, however; speeding on a 4 lane highway when there are no cars in sight is not exactly unacceptable. This law is going to mainly affect the latter. I can understand if this law were governing those individuals who feel it is necessary to speed through crowded streets, but the fact of the matter is, the higher speeds are going to be recorded on major highways. Personally, I have two speeding tickets. Both of which occurred on major highways, and were only 25 over the speed limit, at which point, I had much more control over my car than most people. There were times when I first got my license (Age 16) when I was young and immature and I did, in fact, speed through crowded streets, mainly in an attempt to show off. In situations like these, I agree that some form of punishment is deserved, but there is a big difference between going 50 over the speed limit in the middle of a city, and going 50 over the speed limit on a major highway. Also, because of the nature of this law, there are going to be people accused, and punished, for street racing when that is not what they were doing. Say for example two cars are travelling on a highway, both at a high rate of speed, one behind another. If a police officer sees this they are going to assume that due to the high rate of speed that it is a street race, however, I know from experience (and although young, I do have a lot) that there are occasions when you simply follow another car that is going fast because you believe that it lowers your chances of getting a ticket. Take for example, Germany. In germany on the AutoBahn, there are parts that still have no speed limit. The accident rate on this stretch of highway is far less than the accident rate on canadian highways where the speed limit is set at 100 (sometimes 110). This is due to the fact that a)it is harder to get their license in the first place, and b)they have the experience and control necessary to drive in these conditions. I believe that new drivers (and old ones, because there are a lot of older drivers that are just as bad) should be forced to take numerous driving safety courses before they can attempt to get their license. This way, everyone has the experience necessary to control their car when it is going fast. Although it may seem that I think their should be no punishment for speeding, that is not the case. I think that it is a good idea to give speeding tickets to people who are speeding, but I think this law is too harsh. Having your license suspended and your car impounded and a $2000 fine is unacceptable when it comes to speeding. I realize it is only their to "protect" drivers but if they really want to protect drivers, than force them to take courses don't just make harsher laws. As I mentioned before, harsher laws are not going to prevent speeding. If you aren't going to be able to prevent speeding then at least train people and provide them with the experience necessary so that when they are speeding at least they know how to control the vehicle properly. This is, in my opinion, the only way that they are going to be able to lower the risk of high rate of speed accidents.

Can you not appeal to the charges faced?

for all these people who have to go 50 and over ever stop to think what racetracks are for.

The problem is the speed limit in the first place. Obviously when a large percentage of the population drive at speeds well over the posted limit, the limit is too low. Raise the limits, increase educational standards, fine left lane hogs and have mandatory safety checks on vehicles every 2 years. These items will (as proven in numerous jurisdictions) icnrease safety, make traffic flow better and take some of the frustration out of driving in Ontario.

#28 BRAVO

i think these laws are much too soft i think it starts with getting your liscence it should be a lot tougher.when you get into an accident or speeding ticket your insurance should be doubled. it should be if your driving in a stupid manor and cause an accident at an excessive speed you should pay for everything.than and only than you might have some respect for the law and other motorists.there also needs to be serious crack down on all these super fast cars and stiff fines handed out to drivers seeing you owners are causing all these problems on ontario roads.

I don\'t totally agree with #29. Doubling insurance rates and stricter laws will not make a person respect the law or other motorists. And if by super fast cars you are talking about tuners (\"modified cars\"), why should police be cracking down on the people who drive these types of cars ? I mean a person can own a tuner and not be driving stupid. And in the end it\'s really a person\'s choice how their car looks or performs and i don\'t believe they should be punished for the way their cars look and/or perform

#12 can nobody answer that question

To gary. No one has answered #12's question because they don't have an answer. Of course no one has to drive 50 KM over the posted limit and anyone who does has ^$%* for brains. Most of the answers here are from drivers who like to make their own rules and the rest probably have trouble with authority. All anyone have to do is drive the limit or even a little above like 5-10 over. There is no need to drive any faster on any road unless you are going to a FIRE in which case you would be driving a fire truck and have a perfect right and reason.

sweet!!

yo

Got a speeding ticket- 149/100 zone. 4 Demerit points! I figured, there goes my driving record- AND my insurance rates. Fortunately my nightmares were turned around when my friend told me about a place called street legal! They got my traffic ticket down from 4 points, to 0! Try them for ur next ticket, you’ll be happy u did… 416-601-1500 street-legal.ca

Absolute rubbish this new law.
So the police officer is now a curbside judge!
How about a fair shake and allow the supposed offender
to have their day in court, and then let a judge decide
whether an offence was committed or not!
Funny thing is that here in Ontario, that no street racers have been hit with this new law, but rather the driver on the highways, were it is relatively safe to travel at 50 over the limit. Safety concerns should be addressed with lefthand lane bandits, fail to signal drivers, cell phone users, etc., who are often to self absorbed to obey any commom sense when driving with respect to others on the roadway.

Cannot wait to have the government sued by drivers who have their street racing charge tossed in court, and who loss their vehicles & licence for a week.

It is never safe to drive 50 km over the posted speed limit. Is Amoeba saying that it is OK to drive 150 km/h on highways? What happens if a tire blows or you hit a rock or other object on the road?? I once knew a guy who was traveling the speed limit, he sneezed and lost control of the car for a few seconds. his car ended up on the sidewalk in a store window. If fluke accidents can happen at normal speed why would anyone think it couldn't happen when you are speeding????? Everyone thinks accidents only happen to someone else. Smarten up and drive right!

i was doing my job yesterday delivering in windsor ontario coming back along the 401 towards toronto when this teenager was showing off on the highway showing his friends how fast his honda goes when out of the blue he was pulled over by 3 opp good job its good to see i could not help but laugh all the way back to toronto.

ok, my boyfriend was stopped nd give a $125 ticket for tryin to get me to the hospital nd he was going 15over the speed limet and he\'s only 19 i found this sit tryin to do my homework so everyone is say all young kids are stupid with there cars not likely only some are and ya he might drive a hotwheels car wat everyone calls them but he\'s a gd driver anyother time so i don\'t think ppl should put down just the new drivers old drivers race too.

its nice to see that these laws are getting tougher. these fines should be alot more money. seeing the only way people learn is if you have to pay with your own foolishness so be it

wow were getting more traffic cops keep on racing you guys girls are paying for all these new cops

To #39:

1 - Punctuation (puhngk-choo-ey-shuhn)
2 - Spell check
or
3 - dictionary.com

I had to read your sentence a few times to understand what you were saying, and I'm still confused...

Good information, Darlene.

It sounds as if they may have got the right combination of penalties to deter Street Racing. It's so dangerous and irresponsible, and scary for other drivers.

You must have as many speeders there as we have in Atlanta. It would be great if something would slow them down.

It is good to have speed laws enforced. Maybe they should put governers on peoples cars like they do to truck drivers. So, they can't go over a certain speed. In a way they want to enforce the law, but in another way, where would they get their income if they didn't site tickets?

The usual incidents of road racing we've seen around he is when someone passes you going nowhere. The speeder will usually end up at your side on a 2-lane stop light intersection. You put together a very informative piece of literature...as usual Darlene. Thank you.

i am so glad to see finally we are getting these speeders are being punished properly

#11 you do not need to go 50 km over the speed limit to pass some one you also dont know that they are right lane hugger, duhh. i also think that this law is great and that anyone that does this offence should pay big.

Yes Street Racing is very wrong and a law has to be in place but NOT THIS ONE.

The street racing law is to vague and INNOCENT PEOPLE ARE BEING FOUND GUILTY.

Even you model citizen can and will be found guilty of STREET RACING over something that is not even related to Street racing.

You can be driving on the 401 and a car just like yours blows by. A police officers now thinks your that "street racer" since you agree to GIVE UP YOUR RIGHTS you are now PAYING FOR SOME ELSE CRIME and have ZERO SAY.

You can make a lane change with out signalling and YOU WILL BE FOUND GUILTY OF STREET RACING.

You can make to quick of a left hand turn and YOU WILL BE FOUND GUILTY OF STREET RACING.

You could be driving a 5sp car and get off the clutch too quickly and chirp the tires YOU WILL BE CHARGED WITH STREET RACING.

The list goes on people and if you don't believe me go look up the street racing law.

STOP THIS LAW OR YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM NOT THE SOLUTION.


ONCE YOU GIVE UP THIS RIGHT MORE ARE TO FOLLOW.

The law is good for getting speeders off the highway and make streets safe but one thing i don;t like is putting the towing expense and a week storage charge on the owner although he/she doesn't drives.

I love to race my car, and here is my take on it:


I don\'t want to share my exact car type, however I do have it completely stripped with a 6.1L V8 (425 Hp), TT, Nitrous Oxide boost... Etc.
I also have top of the line, brakes, lightwieght racing wheels, high performance tires, and a brand new single wishbone suspension.

My Car is capable of weaving through traffic in excess of 250 km/h, and straight line well over 300 km/h. I honestly believe this type of driving WOULD be safe, if people would keep to the left hand lanes except to pass. If people signalled when changing lanes, and didn\'t constantly pull out in front of me. Speed doesn\'t kill, it\'s the difference in speed, so if you are doing the speed limit, could you please get out of the fast lane?
None the less, people ARE bad drivers and therefore IT IS NOT safe for me to do these type of things, which is why I don\'t. And my friends who also drive high performance cars do not either. It is just too dangerous to risk someone else\'s life.

Having said that, on the 400 series highways at 3 am when no one is around, we do like to show off to each other, and we really are not putting anyone else in danger (except out selves)

Now you all claim that no street racers have been caught... think about this for a second.. OF COURSE WE HAVEN\'T!!
First, I have a Radar Detector,
Second I have a Police Scanner 99% of the time I know they are there before they see me!

SOmetimes we get clocked and chased, but you all need to realize this for a minute.. I Know I am in trouble before the police start to move and I have a Scanner So i know what the police say to each other. There is No chance I\'m pulling over to loose my car, licence and face 10k in fines! Police car\'s take like 8 seconds to go 0-100, my car takes less than 4! Even from a dead stop they wouldn\'t stand a chance, not to mention my 150km/h+ head start, and the fact that my scanner tells me where every cop car is!

Please stop finning these innocent people in an attempt to catch people like me, 99% of us never race in traffic. The kid\'s who race in traffic are the kid\'s driving Dad\'s M3. when was the last time you saw 5 tuner\'s go ziping by you in heavy traffic?

To bad the law is not about street racing. It does give to power to stop street racers but is being used to fine speeders. All of a sudden speeding becomes racing. Two people have been charged here where I live and both where people traveling on the highway passing by our little burg. Both where passing in passing lanes. But why so fast? Because of morons that for some reason travel at 80k in a 90 and hold up traffic. So what you say. No reason to go that fast in a passing lane to get around a vehicle going 80k.

You would think so but for some reason as soon as a passing lane comes around they speed up to 110 to 120k for the duration and then slow back to 80 when it ends. This causes traffic to back up for miles sometimes and the only way around them is to go faster then them. Very easy to hit 130 to 140k to get by them. Biggest problem is most passing lanes start out on a big hill so you have to increase speed up hill. Not as easy to pass someone doing 120 up hill so by the time you hit the top and it levels off you finally catch them and begin to pass. Then you see the lane ends 300 meters ahead. So as not to crowd the person off into the guard posts (I\'ve wanted to sometimes but I resist) you step it up a bit more. Next thing you know 130 is now 140.

I have hit 150 passing a person who slowed to 75k on every corner and sped up to 90 on the straights. Whenever a passing spot came up (Dotted line) he sped up to 100 or more. But why I had to go so fast to pass him was because when we reached a passing lane he sped up to 130k. So 10kms later on the next passing lane I pulled out to pass and at 150 I barely crept by.

Funniest part is once by him I slowed to about 95k and even though I could see him behind me in the rearview he never did catch up to me except for one passing lane where he almost looked like he might try to pass but ran out of room (he was gaining fast). After that I never saw him again (all corners no straights for awhile) till the four lane highway. About 50k or so down it he passed me doing well over the 100k speed limit. I was doing 105 and he left me like I was standing still.

So what was his problem? Seems like he was scared to go around corners! He wanted to drive 130 but the corners intimidated him. So rather then let faster traffic by he sped up whenever they got a chance and blocked them. His average speed was well below the limit but he was holding up the normal flow of traffic. This causes it to back up and causes accidents. Much safer to be infront of the mess then in the middle of it. As for those afraid of blown out tires and such. I\'m over a million kms driven and I have never had a blown out tire or lost control because of a sneeze.

If it was just this one person it would be laughable but I catch up to so many of them every time I travel to the big city. Once they hit the Northern Ontario bush country they become to afraid to drive at a constant speed and keep the traffic flowing.

So now I keep under 140 when I pass these morons of the road so I don\'t lose my ride and my license because they can\'t drive around a corner. Street racing laws indeed! Never seen a street race in town in my lifetime! Just one more guilty till proven innocent law. Used to be street racing involved two vehicles! Now it just involves whomever the police decide it does. Looks good as a knee jerk reaction law. No real thought went into it!

Never ever call police if somebody cuts you or u see somebody street racing close to you. My car was purposely tried to be hit by one street racer who was doing almost 100 km/hr in 70km/hr zone. I called police and then OPP and told them that this driver tried to hit me three times coz he was not getting any space to speed through by changing lanes. I waited for OPP for 1 hr to tell them what happened. To my surprise... OPP gave me warning along with other street racer that "We two were involved in street racing" !! OPP officer never listened to me and talked rudely that they have a witness that told us that you to were racing. It is all crap. I am pretty much sure now that i won't be calling any Police department or OPP is i see anybody street racing or cutting me on the road. I will be happy paying for car damages if some street racer hits me rather than getting useless "warnings" from OPP on the basis of some "witness" call. When me myself called 911 to report the matter and waited for 1 hour for OPP to show up so that i could describe everything in- person... why do they still want to rely on some other witness. Enough is enough. I wont be calling 911 if i see anybody street racing or cutting me. Street racing laws are good for Ontario and i agree to that. But atleast follow the case according to situation so that right culprit should get punishment.

Yo u still can fight it ask to see the rador if they got u going 50over then u got rights to see if and pry to god they tryed to get the other guy by u that was speeding 2 u can fight that in court if they aint got u clocked.. But I also like to say It is a good rule because we dont need more dead kids so i agree with the speed rule

Ya'll keep sayin that they set up tracks most of the time they dont. Most of the time races just happen they have that kind of look in their eyes sayin lets go, all that setting up race tracks is bogus. Bottom line you cant stop street racing period. But i understand because i lost one of my best friends