Is there anything worse than seeing those red and blue lights flashing in your rear-view mirror? The Ontario Provincial Police give out thousands of Ontario traffic tickets every year to speeders, non-yielders, distracted drivers, and alike. In 2019 alone, Toronto police issued over 200,000 tickets totaling $13.9 million dollars.
That should cover a few pot holes, at least.
But what does a traffic ticket mean for your driving record? Does it raise your car insurance rates? By how much? And what about demerit points? Do they matter?
We’ll answer all of this for you right now.
Let’s get started with the three types of Ontario traffic tickets you could be facing: Minor, Major, and Criminal. These correspond to each of the three categories of driving conviction in Ontario.
If you have a squeaky-clean driving record, there’s a chance that your insurer might be lenient with you for your first conviction. But it’s hard to say for sure, as every insurer has its own underwriting practices, all of which are underpinned by actuarial science.
The best way to tell how it will affect your rates is to get a quote with various insurance companies, or a broker who can find rates with the most savings for you.
Any major or criminal conviction, or two or more minor convictions, will result in an increase in your insurance premiums for sure. How much more you’ll have to pay depends on your provider and your driving history, but these are offences are most likely to raise your rates:
Many of the big insurers in the Ontario market would cancel an auto insurance policy after just one major or criminal conviction. If you accumulate multiple offences, then you’ll very likely need to apply for a high-risk car insurance policy, which can become very expensive.
What do I do if I get an Ontario traffic ticket?
You have 15 days to pay the ticket, which translates into a conviction, or fight it, which can result in the dismissal of any potential conviction. Your insurance premiums may increase if your ticket becomes a conviction, so it can be worthwhile to fight it.
There are a few tickets that won’t affect your car insurance rates:
Parking tickets don’t have an impact because they don’t relate to your ability as a driver (even if bad parking jobs are annoying).
Red light camera tickets don’t affect your insurance because the cameras taking pictures of vehicles running a red only capture the car and the license plate, but not the driver. That means you don’t get demerit points, and, by extension, no penalties on your car insurance rates.
So you’ve been convicted and your premiums have been bumped up—but for how long?
Once the offence is no longer on your driving record, it will no longer be factored into your insurance premiums. You can request your driving record abstract at any time to check the status of past infractions.
Ontario has more than 550 driving infractions. You can see the whole list right here, but we wouldn’t recommend it for light reading. Use that list to find something specific.
You can also check the Ontario Highway Traffic Act for details about each infraction.
Most Canadians will receive at least one speeding ticket on their driving record over their lives. Depending on where you were driving and how far over the speed limit you were going, the fines vary in severity.
| Kilometres | Set Fine |
| 1-19 kilometres per hour over the maximum speed limit. | $2.50 per kilometre |
| 20-29 kilometres per hour over the maximum speed limit. | $3.75 per kilometre |
| 30-49 kilometres per hour over the maximum speed limit. | $6 per kilometre |
| 50 kilometres per hour over the maximum speed limit. | No out-of-court settlement |
| Kilometres | Set Fine |
| 1-19 kilometres per hour over the maximum speed limit. | $2.50 per kilometre |
| 20-34 kilometres per hour over the maximum speed limit. | $3.75 per kilometre |
| 35-49 kilometres per hour over the maximum speed limit. | $6 per kilometre |
| 50-60 kilometres per hour over the maximum speed limit. | $8 per kilometre |
| 61+ kilometres per hour over the maximum speed limit. | No set fine |
| Kilometres | Set Fine |
| 1-19 kilometres per hour over the maximum speed limit. | $5 per kilometre |
| 20-29 kilometres per hour over the maximum speed limit. | $7.50 per kilometre |
| 30-49 kilometres per hour over the maximum speed limit. | $12 per kilometre |
| 50 kilometres per hour over the maximum speed limit. | No out-of-court settlement |
| Kilometres | Set Fine |
| 1-19 kilometres per hour over the maximum speed limit. | $2.50 per kilometre |
| 20-29 kilometres per hour over the maximum speed limit. | $3.75 per kilometre |
| 30-49 kilometres per hour over the maximum speed limit. | $6 per kilometre |
| 50 kilometres per hour over the maximum speed limit. | No out-of-court settlement |
| Kilometres | Set Fine |
| 1-19 kilometres per hour over the maximum speed limit. | $5 per kilometre |
| 20-29 kilometres per hour over the maximum speed limit. | $7.50 per kilometre |
| 30-49 kilometres per hour over the maximum speed limit. | $12 per kilometre |
| 50 kilometres per hour over the maximum speed limit. | No out-of-court settlement |
If you are convicted or your traffic offence, you may also receive demerit points. Here are the categories for the most common convictions:
7 Demerit Points
6 Demerit Points
5 Demerit Points
4 Demerit Points
3 Demerit Points
Two Demerit Points
Whew! That’s all the big stuff. Drive safely out there!