June 4/15 9:56 am - Ontario Legislation to Improve Road Safety Includes Cyclists

Posted by Editoress on 06/4/15
 

On Wednesday, Ontario passed the Making Ontario's Roads Safer Act to help ensure that the province's roads are among the safest in North America.  The Act includes an array of improvements for cyclists across the province. Fines for dooring a cyclist are now increased from a maximum of $300 to a maximum of $1,000 plus 3 demerit points, cycling on paved shoulders is now legal and the one metre safe passing rule is now law in Ontario.

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

• Increase fines for distracted driving from the current range of $60 to $500 to a range of $300 to $1,000, assigning three demerit points upon conviction, and escalating sanctions on convictions for novice drivers
• Apply current alcohol-impaired sanctions to drivers who are drug impaired
• Introduce additional measures to address repeat offenders of alcohol impaired driving
• Require drivers to wait until pedestrians have completely crossed the road before proceeding at school crossings and pedestrian crossovers
• Increase fines and demerits for drivers who 'door' cyclists, and require all drivers to maintain a minimum distance of one-metre when passing cyclists where possible
• Help municipalities collect unpaid fines by expanding licence plate denial for drivers who do not pay certain Provincial Offences Act fines.
• Allow a broader range of qualified medical professionals to identify and report medically unfit drivers and, clarify the types of medical conditions to be reported.

The new fines and measures will come into force over the coming months. The new legislation builds on action that the province has already taken to improve road safety, including making booster seats mandatory, ensuring every person wears a seatbelt, introducing the Graduated Licensing System for novice drivers, establishing stiffer penalties for aggressive driving and excess speeding, bringing in tougher impaired driving laws, and banning hand-held devices while driving.

For more information on Bill 31, visit the Legislative Assembly of Ontario's website.