Petition to modify Ontario's "Street Racing Law"

[dguy]

Yeah it's an online petition and I often have my doubts about the effectiveness of the things, but...   

Ontario's "Safer Streets Act" or whatever it's called, in its current form allows cops to perform road-side license suspensions and vehicle impoundments at their discretion.  In other words, the police get to play judge & jury right then & there.  Problem is that the law provides no recourse for those charged and punished on the side of the road should they later be found innocent.

Simple example:  As it currently stands, if you're charged under this law and the cop decides to take your keys and your license, should you challenge the charges and be found innocent you still have to fork over the impound fees if you want your vehicle returned.      

The petition asks that the law be revised such that police officers may no longer impose on-the-spot punishments before a driver is found guilty under the Highway Traffic Act.   

http://www.petitiononline.com/civil013/petition.html

[FieroBUZZ]

I suspect it would be more effective to badger your MPP.  They do have someone read their mail, but I bet car buffs are pretty low on the to-placate list.   

[Sentinel]

A friend of mine was just hit with this, family man no previous history of speeding or any other issues in the past, he was on his way back from Toronto and decieded to take hywy 15 back and wasn't paying attention to his speed, ended up getting nail for 135km/hr and was charged with street racing, even thou there wasn't another car on the road, rental car impounded and license suspended for 7 day and is looking down the barrel of a possible 2 year suspension, 2000-10000 fine(all max's).

Granted he was speeding but the penalties aren't matching the crimes.

http://www.petitiononline.com/civil013/petition.html
 

[Gizmo]

Sad country when the ones who commit murder or a "real crime" get off with a slap.  Oh Canada....

Tragic really.  Your tax dollars at work!

[FieroBUZZ]

Still if you are going 50 over you do need a good slap upside the head.  How dumb do you need to be to be doing 135 in an 80 zone? 

[Gizmo]

Still if you are going 50 over you do need a good slap upside the head.  How dumb do you need to be to be doing 135 in an 80 zone? 

Now if something was actually done with the speed limits on highways to get into the times.

[JetJumper]

Now a days, roads that are rated at 100KM/hour, the average person I would say is going atleast 115-120km/hour

I say up the limit to 120!   Even my smart car can out do that   Speed limiter kicks in at 140km.. lol

[Sentinel]

yeah no doubt it was well over the limit and warrants some sort of punishment but is a potential 2 year suspension and 10000 fine(as unlikely as the max is in this case) not seem too harsh? I know when I drove that Toronto stretch of the 401 your typically at 120+ for a good stretch you just get use to that speed and I've found myself going too fast going too fast once I'm on a 2 lane road.

The point of the law was to stop street racing, just find it strange how someone can be racing when they are the only car on the road, plus it wasn't some sup'ed up car it was a rental Pontiac....doesn't excuse it, again it goes back to the spirit of the law.

[dguy]

Errr... lookin' like we're off on a tangent here.


The point of this petition is not the issue of whether labeling anyone who does 50+km/h over the limit as a "racer" is right or wrong!

It's all about the road-side impoundment and/or licence suspension which you may neither appeal nor expect to receive compensation for should you be found innocent of charges. 

I have no problem taking my lumps when being convicted of doing something wrong, but it's inane IMO that the lumps can be given out before conviction.  It's doubly inane that the cost of said lumps must be borne by the accused even if they're found innocent.   

[Sentinel]

Article relating to street racing law.

http://www.wheels.ca/Columnists/article/248098