The Huntsville Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police want to inform the motoring public On November 19, 2024, the Safer Roads and Communities Act, 2024 received Royal Assent. This law in conjunction with Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act (HTA) allows police to require a driver to stop and to assess the driver’s sobriety, whether a vehicle is on or off the highway.
In addition to strengthening impaired driving issues, other goals are to improve community safety and protect people and families from road users who engage in dangerous and illegal activities such as impaired driving, stunt driving and auto theft. The Safer Roads and Communities Act would also strengthen the province’s commercial vehicle enforcement program and improve e-bike safety.
- In 2023, 78 per cent of reported e-bike collisions resulted in serious injuries.
- In 2022, 20,000 drivers were suspended for impaired driving – that’s one every 26 minutes.
- Every 14 minutes, a vehicle is stolen in Ontario, with Toronto experiencing a 78 per cent increase in violent carjackings since 2021.
Three significant amendments to the HTA related to police authority will allow police to conduct sobriety and impaired investigations on private property:
Definition of “Driver” Under HTA Subsection 48 (18)
Subsection 48 (18) of the HTA has now been amended so that the term “driver” includes a person who has care, charge or control of a motor vehicle while the vehicle is on or off a highway. This amendment allows a police officer to require a driver to stop to check their sobriety not only while the vehicle is on the highway, but also while it is off the highway. This means private property.
Definition of “Motor Vehicle” Under HTA Subsection 48 (18)
The term now includes motorized snow vehicles, and any other type of motor vehicle as defined in s. 2 of the Criminal Code. Section 2 of the Criminal Code defines a “motor vehicle” as “a vehicle that is drawn, propelled or driven by any means other than muscular power. Police now have the authority to stop drivers of motor vehicles, street cars, snowmobiles, motorized scooters or bikes, tractors, off-road vehicles and all-terrain vehicles, and other types of motorized vehicles, whether the motor is engaged or not, to check their sobriety.
Stopping Powers under HTA Section 216
This amendment allows a police officer to stop a driver or a person with care, charge or control of a vehicle including when the vehicle has recently travelled from or off the highway.
These amendments are expected to enhance the detection of impaired drivers, thereby contributing to safer roads and communities across Ontario.
These changes are very important to the police, the public and drivers who drive while impaired by alcohol and/or drugs. Police now have the authority to investigate impaired driving on private property.
For more information, go on-line at Ontario.ca/Safer Roads and Communities Act
