Vehicles impounded and driver's licences suspended for 7 days

Oct 01, 2007 04:30 AM
Chris Jai Centeno
Rachel De Lazzer
Staff Reporters

The high cost of speeding has come home to more than two dozen lead-footed drivers, the first to fall foul of new legislation designed to curb street racing and aggressive driving in Ontario.
For the 28 drivers charged yesterday, the costs hit home immediately: Vehicle impounded for seven days, driver's licence suspended for seven days and, if found guilty in court, a minimum $2,000 fine.
It was enough to drive one young man to tears after he became one of the first stopped by the Ontario Provincial Police after the law – aimed at drivers doing more than 50 kilometres over the speed limit – came into effect yesterday.
"A young man started crying as his mom's car was impounded," said OPP Sgt. Cam Woolley, unable to say if the tears were prompted by the temporary loss of the car, the potential fine, or in anticipation of mom's wrath.
Another driver, who just got his new car, promptly lost it after he was clocked doing 174 km/h on Highway 401, which has a 100 km/h speed limit. "He only had the car for two days, and the car will be impounded longer than he owned it," Woolley noted.
Two drivers who had their rental cars impounded face even steeper costs, since they'll be paying rental costs while their cars sit in an impound lot. "They're now responsible for at least a week of extra rent," Woolley said, adding: "There's no question that this is going to reduce the aggressive driving."
Police aren't apologizing for embracing the law and its stiff penalties.
"We're trying to make aggressive driving as socially unacceptable as drinking and driving," Woolley said.
One reason for the tough stance is the mounting cost of speeding. According to OPP statistics, 340 people have been killed on Ontario roads so far this year, compared with 329 at the same time last year; 87 of this year's cases involved speed and aggressive driving.
To curb that kind of behaviour, the new law also imposes the tough penalties on any kind of risky driving behaviour.
"There's a lot of room for the officer to use their own judgment," Woolley noted, such as "anyone driving in a risky manner, driving an unsafe vehicle, driving double the speed limit on wet or icy roads.'
"People should keep in mind that it's not just speeding," he added. "It can be unsafe lane changes, people slaloming through traffic at high speed – about a dozen different offences can result in these charges."
Police say their new enforcement powers come just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and they're readying an arsenal for the task – aircraft, new equipment and unmarked patrol cars that are more difficult to spot than ever.
The law came into effect after several street racing deaths during the past year. Police note it also applies to stunt driving such as popping wheelies and doing doughnuts.