kazanak

Clearer definitions under section 172 of the highway traffic act (street racing section) are on the way. Visit the link below, or read on. Deadline for email comments on the regulation is June 17, 2007. This is in addition to the changes to the maximum and minimum fines upon conviction, and the new restriction on Nitrous Oxide setups.

Proposed Street Racing Regulation <Click Here>

Proposed Street Racing Regulation - Summary of Proposal:

MTO anticipates the creation of a new regulation under section 172 of the Highway Traffic Act (“HTA”) to define certain terms that are used in that section of the Act. The terms to be defined for the purposes of section 172 are: “race”, “contest” and “stunt”. While these terms already have their plain meaning, the regulation may allow that meaning to be further refined or clarified, or for certain activities to be excluded from the meaning of the terms.

Race:

The definition of “race” is expected to include any one of the following circumstances:

• A contest of speed;
• A driver tries to outdistance or to compete with another vehicle by accelerating or driving faster than the other vehicle;
• Trying to prevent other vehicles from passing;
• Driving at any speed above the posted speed limit to try to arrive at a destination ahead of one or more other vehicles.

The definition of “race” may take into account whether conditions or circumstances indicate that the driver is driving without due regard for any person and/or that their driving may cause harm to themselves or another person.

Stunt:

The definition of “stunt” is expected to target the unsafe use of a motor vehicle for the purposes of displaying some feat of unusual driving. The definition of “stunt” may take into account whether conditions or circumstances indicate that the driver is driving without due regard for any person and/or that their driving may cause harm to themselves or another person.

Contest:

The definition of “contest” is expected to include driving a vehicle on a public road in excess of the posted speed limit for the purposes of participating in a game or competition.

The definition of “contest” may take into account whether conditions or circumstances indicate that the driver is driving without due regard for any person and/or that their driving may cause harm to themselves or another person.

Organized and insured events will be excluded from the scope of the terms “contest” and “race”. Such events as navigational rallies or charity “Easter egg hunts”, or other similar activities carried out by drivers who are generally driving in compliance with the provisions of the HTA will not be made illegal. Similarly, where the road used for the rally is closed, or the event is approved by the local road authority, or sanctioned by a recognized motor sport organization, it will not be within the scope of the prohibited behaviour.

Police Procedures at Roadside:

The regulation will also specify how the roadside 7-day licence suspension and 7-day vehicle impoundment will be administered by the police services.

Bookm

My comments to the MTO:

Say good-bye to back-road drag-racing, say hello to high-speed police pursuits (likely ending in death).

I am 44 yrs. old. When we were teenagers, we would take our cars out on a well known side road and drag race late at night (1/4 mile lines were even painted on the road. On occasion, the OPP would come by and throw their cherries on to spook everyone out of there and send us on our way. No one ever got hurt. It just wasn't that big of a deal. It was Just kids being kids.

With this proposed legislation, you will undoubtedly cause kids in this situation to try to "run" from the cops. The fight-or-flight reaction WILL kick in. It's just human nature. The penalty is so severe you have made it worth the risk of runnin'. You must realize that most kids DO NOT trust the police, and knowing that the police would now have the power to take their precious cars, right there on the spot, will surely be the triggering factor in a police chase. Most of these kids work very hard to earn enough to personalize their vehicles. I know I did when I was young. These are the kids who will continue to work hard and contribute to society long after their "hot-rod" days are over. I totally respect a kid that makes the effort to modify their car and learn how to drive it effectively. These are the drivers who will know how to swerve around obstacles without rolling in the ditch. These are the drivers who will know how to save a car that gets all crossed-up on an icy road. But these are the drivers who you now view as public enemy #1 and vow to destroy there lives.

As a driver who tends to fight every ticket I get, my immediate thought is how to defend such a charge. It seems to me one or both of the "racers" would have to admit to the contest. If both just say they were speeding, then how can the police prove otherwise? If a motorist chooses to maintain his 8th amendment rights and refuses to offer self-incriminating evidence at the traffic stop, then surely there should be no racing (or "contest") charges laid.

Here's a problem I have personally:
My car is capable of out-accelerating about 90% of the cars on the road. When I am stopped at a red light, I always accelerate as quickly (and safely) as possible when the light changes, so I can be in front of the car beside me. This gives me more options for lane-choice ahead. All it would take is for a local cop to decide that this fits the definition of racing to have my life seriously affected by such a charge. Don't think that no cop will take advantage of their new-found power. It is quite obvious that many police officers have total disregard for teenage drivers. They hate the "know-it-all" attitudes they have, and they hate the little "rice-rocket" Honda's they drive. Even though these are just kids expressing themselves during a phase that will surely pass, many police officers will take advantage of their new-found powers to subject these kids to punishments the likes of which we've never seen. The police should never have this kind of power for vehicle confiscation just because they "believe" a competition was being executed. Unlike drunk drivers, alleged racers can quite simply drive away from a traffic stop safely, and they should be allowed to do so.

I have four teenage kids all approaching driving age. It's already virtually impossible for them to acquire, insure, and maintain their own cars, and it just keeps getting harder and harder for them to conform to such harsh rules. Remember, this proposal will affect YOUR friends and family too. Never pass a law that you're not prepared to convict your own child of.

I recall a time when World Indy Car Champion Danny Sullivan was given a speeding ticket heading for the airport after the Molson Indy race (many years ago). To me, it just seemed so ridiculous that one of the best drivers in the world would be punished for driving at a speed which would be HALF of what he just spent his last 2 hours doing. Some people have skills behind the wheel, some don't. This new law lumps the skilled drivers in with the crappy ones. I s'pose you'll be quite successful at keeping organized "Bullrunner's" out of the country, but a whole lot of normal kids and driving enthusiasts are about to be permanently scarred.

This new legislation will serve to seriously punish many of this countries most skillful drivers. It will do little to deter the life-threatening antics of our senseless, idiotic, impulsive group of wreckless drivers. In fact, it will likely increase the death toll due to the insurgence of high speed police chases.

SugaDaddy

WooOW Couldn't have said it better BOOKm...

Leung

iTrader: (2)

lol

AMKK

Ah, they didn't say anything about jockeying..As in, jockeying for position.
Bookm said it best.

kazanak

For the record gents, this is not "proposed legislation". The associated legislation was passed by the Ontario legislature under bill 203 on May 29, 2007. It is now law.

What's being drafted now are the regulations which will be used when applying the law. Specifically here, there are proposed changes to clarify the definition of what constitutes a street race - something which has been historically ambiguous and difficult to prove in court.

The recently passed changes to the HTA under bill 203 should not be confused with last years nonsense about making street racing a federal criminal code offense. We're talking about Ontario provincial law here.

All that said, your sentiments are bang-on, bookm. I sincerely hope you've forwarded that to the Ministry, and encourage others to forward their thoughts there as well.

Kuztom Freak

Here's what I sent out




The reasons for this law being contemplated for revision is for goverment party gain through public vote, poor media representation of street racing, and incorrect false public knowledge. Most of the public has learned of street racing from the media who portray the act in poor light when it is alleged that a street race took the life of a person rather than the fact that poor driver skill and poor driver thinking was to blame.

Let us first examine what a race or contest is and what is happening during it. It is a driver (extremely) focused on the road, all obstacles, other vehicles, his/her vehicle, who (depending on experience) has a higher degree of driving skill than most non-racers, they also look far up the road (depending on the type of race it is, closed circut race or open circut) for the aforementioned reasons. A racer is a person who is very aware of their vehicle, it's capabilities and limitations. During a race (wheather street race, road course race, or professional sanctioned type race) the driver first takes a good look around them to see if it is firstly safe to race, then if deemed so, enter into the race. They drive focused on the road taking in road conditions and many other varying things.

Now, most people (the general public) simply stare at the bumper directly ahead of them and are oblivious to everything and everyone else (like young lamb in a flock). These are the TRUE dangerous drivers who routinly cause "accidents" and the same people who account for more property damage, injuries, and death than street racing has ever claimed. Should talking on a cell phone, listening to the radio, or being distraced byadvertisements aside the road also become a criminal offence, particularily if it involves an accident?

This proprosed revision of the law will do noting to curb the incidence of deaths/injuries attributed to alleged street racing (as most street racers will not be aware of the new laws) and will only incourage a would be street racer to run from police (which in itself could be far more dangerous than the race itself) as the law would be far more severe and only provide more "opinion of interpretation" to police officers as adding more meanings to the terms race, stunt, contest, and will not stop the act itself from occuring beforehand other than perhaps acting as a small deterent for a limited few. For Example. As it is now, being pulled over and charged with racing is one thing. Increase the charges making them criminal while seizing the vehicle and adding jail time would make it seem like avading police is the better option since it's only a small additional charge. Now that there would be soo much more to loose, running seems like the better option, much like a criminal would allways almost run from police when caught robbing a bank as opposed to running from police when caught littering.

It also does not seem fair at all to group together people who kill others on crowded populated roads with obvious dissregard for public safety with those who responsibly and purposely decide to go race on cordoned off and guardened streets on some quiet unused back road or industrial area to be as safe as possible given the activity at hand.

What I propose is the following. Have degrees of law much like exist in homicide or drinking and driving, the more responsible and safe you tried to be while commiting the offence, the lesser the degree. For example. 5th degree charges (small fine) of street racing would be for people who resonsibly go race in a safe cordoned off and guardened unused road (like an unused back road or a quiet industrial road), and not involving property damage, injury or death. 4th degree (medium fine) would be for the same shown responsibleness and safety but on a more populated road and or, for not showing responsibility and safety on quiet back roads, or industrial areas, and not involving property damage, injury or death. 3rd degree (large fine and possible charges) could be for racing on a regular street and being irresponsible and for not taking safety precautions, and not involving property damage, injury or death. 2nd degree (heavy fine and more possible charges) would include racing on any street in an unsafe and dangerous manner, and not involving property damage, injury or death. 1st degree (highest fine and possible charges) would include any of the other already meantioned degrees while operating an "unfit for road use" vehicle, and not involving property damage, injury or death.

In accompaniment to those degrees can be added levels of higher magnitude charges that revolve around incidents involving a race or contest on a sliding scale format. For example. Degree 1,2,3,4, or 5 while causing property damage would include additional fines or charges and may involve demerit points (say 1 point). Degree 1,2,3,4, or 5 while causing injury would see yet a stiffer fine and or charge (possibly criminal depending on outcome) and may involve demerit points (say 2 points). Degree 1,2,3,4, or 5 while causing death would carry the highest penalty and would absoloutly carry criminal charges (much like, or same as vehicular manslaughter) and would carry demerit points (say 3 points). Additional jail time could be added as deemed fit on a case by case basis.



I know it's not exactly what they asked for, just thought maybe someone at the gov reading it might consider it