Tougher rules on speeding…
It doesn’t really matter which way you look at it, rules have always been and always will be part of our lives. We had rules as kids at home, rules at school, rules at our jobs, rules for activities including sports. No matter where you look, there are rules. Many times, the rules were in place to keep everyone on an even playing field. Other times it was to help to keep us safe. Once we learned to drive, there were even more rules. You don’t really have to like the rules, but you did have to follow them.
If you think about it, if every driver did what they were expected to do, there would be far less collisions, insurance rates would be very low, serious injuries and fatalities drop significantly. But because drivers feel “entitled” to do whatever they want, not expecting they would do any harm to them or anyone else – let alone get caught, rules had to be put in place. Tough rules.
Starting July 1, 2021 any driver in Ontario Canada the law of “stunt driving” is changing. When this law was originally put in place, it meant that anyone doing 50 km/h over the speed limit meant they would automatically have a 7-day licence suspension and 7-day vehicle impoundment. All at their cost of course. Other penalties would include 6 demerit points, a fine of $2000 with a chance of it increasing to $10000, a licence suspension of up to 2 years if convicted and possibility of imprisonment of up to 6 months. Sounds worth it, doesn’t it? Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, your vehicle insurance would have a dramatic increase…forever.
Well, apparently these penalties are not stopping some of these drivers. So, what did the Ontario government do? They made a few changes with the goal of having some of these drivers think twice about stunt driving. Starting July 1, 2021 the penalties now would be a 14 day vehicle impoundment. And by the way, the owner of the vehicle pays the impound fees. If your family member was charged for stunt driving but they had your vehicle, think about it. Perhaps it’s a good time to talk to the G1 and G2 drivers in your household about responsibility. If your kids have their insurance bundled in with your insurance, guess what happens to your insurance rates? And the other increase is from a 7 day licence suspension to 30 day licence suspension.
The other change was on roads less than 80 km/h, if the driver was driving 40 km/h over the speed limit, they would be charged under the stunt driving law. Stunt driving is not just on the expressways and highways. It’s also on city streets. You know, where pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles moving much slower such as leaving from a stopped position. Where so many people could be seriously injured or killed.
Yes, I’m about to say what most people already know; a driver’s licence is a privilege not a right. If that’s the case, abusing your privilege is going to cost you. Big time. This is what happens when too many drivers ignore the rules. Tougher rules need to be put in place to protect you and everyone else on the road near you. Hopefully, this set of rules will make a difference and knock some sense into these drivers. Hopefully.
**Have a quick listen to this short episode of the “Speed Bumps” podcast as it’s discussed more about who you really hurt while speeding**
Even these new rules are not enough in my opinion. It should be automatic permanent suspension of driver’s license on second offense.
As much as I’d want that on first offense, I do believe in second chances (some do learn after being caught) and if you screw it up, you pay the ultimate price of never being allowed the privilege of driving ever again since you’ve proven you can be relied upon to drive safely.
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I would suggest that cars have a GPS-driven max speed to avoid speeding. Every vehicle can go 20 kph over the posted limit in most environs and 0 kph over in school zones. My other idea was that, in concert with the previous suggestion, the blood alcohol reader interlock and a driver’s license reader that makes your DL the car key which will also determine the car’s performance and/or maximum speed etc. This might cut down on most accidents at least.