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.
What counts as a minor infraction in Ontario?
- Crowding vehicle with more people than seat belts
- Defective brakes
- Driver’s license violations
- Driving with an insecure load
- Driving with open alcohol in vehicle
- Driving without an up-to-date inspection sticker
- Failing to share the road
- Failing to signal
- Failure to use seat belts
- Failing to yield to another vehicle or pedestrian
- Failure to surrender your license to authority
- Failure to produce evidence of insurance to authority
- Driving without insurance
- Following too closely
- Headlight offences
- Improper driving in a bus lane
- Improper opening of door
- Improper passing, lane change or turn
- Improper railway crossing
- Improper towing
- Improper use of divided highway
- Obstruction of license plate
- Obstructing the view of other drivers
- Obstructing traffic
- Overloading
- Seat belt infraction
- Speeding
- Stop sign or traffic light infraction
- Unnecessary noise
- Unnecessary slow driving
- Unsafe move
- Unsafe or prohibited turn
- Unsafe vehicle
- Use of radar warning device
- Wrong way on one way
What counts as a major traffic violation in Ontario?
- Distracted driving (most often texting and driving)
- False statement of insurance
- Failure to follow restrictions in a school zone or improper passing zone
- Failing to report an accident
- Failure to report damage to highway property
- Failure to stop for an emergency vehicle
- Failing to stop or improper passing at a school bus
- Producing false evidence of license or insurance
- Speeding in a construction zone
- Violation of license conditions (non-alcohol)
What counts as a criminal traffic violation in Ontario?
- Dangerous driving
- Criminal negligence
- Driving above the alcohol limit in Ontario (blood alcohol level over 0.08)
- Driving while under suspension
- Failing to obey police
- Failing to remain at an accident scene
- Motor manslaughter
- Operating a motor vehicle without insurance
- Racing
- Speeding 50 km over the posted speed limit (or set limit in your province)
- Refusing a breathalyzer test
- Stunt driving or drag racing
- Violation of license conditions (alcohol-related)
How much will an Ontario traffic ticket impact my insurance?
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:
- Reckless driving
- Driving under the influence
- Driving without a license or permit
- Careless driving
- Speeding 40 km/h over the limit
- Failure to stop
- Improper turn
- Improper passing
- Following too close/tailgating
- Speeding 25-39 km/h over the limit
- Speeding 1-25 km/h over the limit
- Failure to yield
- No car insurance
- Seat belt infractions
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.
How long do Ontario’s traffic tickets stay on my driving record?
So you’ve been convicted and your premiums have been bumped up—but for how long?
- Demerit points: two years
- Traffic ticket conviction: three years
- License suspension: between 90 days and 3 years (in most cases, but not all)
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.
Speeding infractions and fines
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.
General speeding infractions
| 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 |
Photo radar speeding infractions
| 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 |
Construction zone speeding (workers present)
| 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 |
Construction zone speeding (workers absent)
| 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 |
Community safety zone speeding infractions
| 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 |
How many demerit points do you get for Ontario traffic tickets?
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
- Failing to remain at the scene of a collision
- Failing to stop when signaled or asked by a police officer
6 Demerit Points
- Careless driving
- Racing
- Exceeding the speed limit by 50 km/hour or more
- Failing to stop for a school bus
5 Demerit Points
- Failing to stop at an unprotected railway crossing (for bus drivers only)
4 Demerit Points
- Exceeding the speed limit by 30 to 49 km/hour
- Following too closely
3 Demerit Points
- Driving while holding or using a hand-held wireless communications or entertainment device (with a $1,000 fine and a three-day license suspension)
- Driving while viewing a display screen unrelated to the driving task
- Exceeding the speed limit by 16 to 29 km/hour
- Driving through, around or under a railway crossing barrier
- Driving the wrong way on a divided road
- Driving or operating a vehicle on a closed road
- Failing to yield the right-of-way
- Failing to obey a stop sign, traffic control stop/slow sign, traffic light or railway crossing signal
- Failing to obey the directions of a police officer
- Failing to report a collision to a police officer
- Failing to slow and carefully pass a stopped emergency vehicle or a tow truck with its amber lights flashing
- Failing to move, where possible, into another lane when passing a stopped emergency vehicle or a tow truck with its amber lights flashing
- Improper passing
- Improper driving when road is divided into lanes
- Improper use of a high occupancy vehicle lane
- Going the wrong way on a one-way road
- Crossing a divided road where no proper crossing is provided
- Crowding the driver’s seat
Two Demerit Points
- Improper right turn
- Improper left turn
- Improper opening of a vehicle door
- Prohibited turns
- Towing people — on toboggans, bicycles, skis
- Unnecessary slow driving
- Backing on highway
- Failing to lower headlamp beams
- Failing to obey signs
- Failing to stop at a pedestrian crossing
- Failing to share the road
- Failing to signal
- Driver failing to wear a seat belt
- Driver failing to ensure infant/ child passenger is properly secured in an appropriate child restraint system or booster seat
- Driver failing to ensure that a passenger less than 23 kg is properly secured
- Driver failing to ensure that a passenger under 16 years is wearing a seat belt
Whew! That’s all the big stuff. Drive safely out there!
