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IF YOU HAVE A "STUNT DRIVING" TICKET

• This is a Summons ordering you to attend court on a specific date.
• If you do not appear a warrant can be issued for your arrest or a trial date will be set in your absence.
• If you are found guilty there is a minimum fine of $2,000 up to $10,000
• You may be liable to 6 months in jail with or without the above fine
• The Justice may impose a Drivers License suspension: 1st Conviction up to 2 years. 2nd Conviction not more than 10 years - in addition to the 7 day roadside suspension and vehicle impoundment you may already have experienced!
• The Ministry of Transportation will impose 6 Demerit Points !

Actions that are considered to be Stunt Driving in Ontario

Driving at a rate of speed that is higher than 50km/hr is the most common reason, by far.

Follow up:

Other Examples of "Stunt Driving"

• Driving without care and attention to the road or without reasonable care for the safety of others on the road
• Preventing another car from passing without reason
• Stopping or slowing your car in a manner that interferes with the movement of the cars behind you.
• Completing Donuts (circular motions with your car)
• Driving your car in a position that is not seated in the driver’s seat
• Driving with passengers in your trunk
• Improper turns

What can your paralegal do to help?

First, find the right paralegal for you:

• Ensure that your paralegal has the skill and experience to handle this complex case
• Find out if they are able to put up a challenge to this charge or will they just plead you guilty?
• Is the paralegal you're talking to the actual person who is handling your case to the end?
• Is the person you're talking to a Licensed Paralegal?

Can You "Plea Bargain"?

Maybe. This varies greatly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Most prosecutor’s are NOT willing to reduce this offence to a lesser one! The most common offer from the prosecutions is that if you plea guilty as charged to the offence of “Stunt Driving” they will agree to ask for a fine of between $1500 to $2000 with no further driver’s license suspension (But still the 6 points).
Where allowed, some clients are happy to negotiate a plea of guilty to a lesser offence or even to the offence of Speeding at the rate of speed they have been accused of. This will then remove the “Street Racing” wording from their driving record.

But if the prosecution is unwilling to budge, how do we fight this ticket?

• First, we check the paper work. Many cases are won because the paper work has not been completed properly by the officer after he has given you the summons!
• Next we seek “disclosure” from the prosecution. Cases are won where the prosecution fails in its obligations to provide sufficient disclosure so that we can make “full answer & defence”.
• Then we file a Charter of Rights Application, within the correct time period, to the Provincial Prosecutor, the Attorney General of Ontario, The Justice Dept. of Canada & to the Traffic Court.
• Among many items challenging the constitutionality of “Stunt Driving” are exampled here:-

1. It is respectfully submitted that coupling absolute liability offences with the punishment of imprisonment violates s. 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
2. Does s. 172(1) (5)(a) and (b) of the Highway Traffic Act violates s. 8 of the Charter ?

(A seizure under s. 8 is the taking by a public authority of a thing belonging to a person against that person's will.  )

Section 172(1)(5)(b) of the Highway Traffic Act makes it mandatory upon the officer to seize the vehicle in question and affords no discretion. It offers no protection to the owner of the property. The vehicle was seized without a warrant and not for any purpose mentioned below:

1. The vehicle itself will not be produced as evidence by the prosecution,
2. It was not being held by the police for further investigation,
3. It is not being held for the preservation of the peace,
4. It is not being held for its protection,
5. It is not being held to prevent the continuation of the offence. (Once the vehicle’s speed falls to within the posted (or unposted) speed limit, the offence is no longer being committed. Once the vehicle is brought to a stop the police are no longer concerned with the continuation of the offence),
6. It was not seized for the officer’s safety,
7. To argue that the vehicle was seized for the public’s safety would be absurd. That argument would have to apply to any vehicle stopped by the police for any alleged violation of the Highway Traffic Act and does not make any sense.

So far, the higher courts have made no rulings to guide the lower courts on the charge of "Stunt Driving"and so defending this ticket remains on the frontier of legal jurisprudence.

Stay tuned.

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