NEW ONTARIO LAW -- BE CAREFUL -- BIG FINE + POINTS

[Charlie S]

Hi Guys,

A friend of mine just had an experience which I hope you will not have to go through yourselves.... He was driving on the 427 South at Burnamthorpe in broad daylight at 2 p. m., when he came upon two police cruisers who had pulled over a third vehicle. He slowed down to be cautious, and was surprised when the second cruiser pulled out and pulled him over.

Approaching on the passenger side, the officer asked if my friend knew why he was pulled over. He honestly expressed that had no idea. The officer informed him that Ontario law now states that when approaching any emergency vehicle on the roadside with lights flashing, you must enter the left lane. He then proceeded to ticket him, taking three demerits and issuing a fine of , wait for it, . . $490!
(Yes, I'm choking as I type that.)

He did not change lanes, but I do believe he was cautious.
My message is, be careful. He said that they are cracking down hard on this because of injured officers. Did not realize this was the law. Neither did any of my recently-licensed children. Or evidently not the other 47 drivers pulled over.
If you want to read the legislation click on the site:

http://ogov.newswire.ca/ontario/GPOE/2003/04/03/c7335.html?lmatch=&lang=_e.html

Hefty fine if you don't change lanes!!!!!!! 3 demerit points on top of cash.
Go to the link above and check it out.

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[malfunktion]

This should be an obvious one. If you see pulled over cars on the right shoulder and your in the right lane. Get the frig out of the right lane, you are a hazard. How many times have you seen on most incredible videos, a cop car getting smashed by some fool who stayed in the right lane?

Especially when noone is beside you, unless theres heavy traffic it shouldnt be a problem to move a lane over for all of 10 seconds..

unfortunate he didnt get a warning though still.

[Jeff-TheBiz]

Did I miss something... that law isnt new, it is from 2003...

Also I agree with malfunktion...

[Fobio]

yeah, not a new law, but your buddy was prolly also gawking...move over a lane and stay at speed...

[Iceman_F1]

+1 on the old news of this. At the same time, common sense in the matter.

Oh, and as per the link that should be noted...


Requires drivers to slow down, and proceed with caution when
travelling on all highways in the same direction as a stopped
emergency vehicle with its red lights flashing. If the highway has
two or more lanes, the driver must move over into another lane if it
can be done safely.

I can understand when sometimes you get an idiot in the other lane not letting you in or it's not safe to move over but you should always move over when it's safe to do so

[p-o-g-i]

As mentioned above... this is not a new law.
It has been discussed in previous threads.
But thanks for re- emphasizing this particular law....

[m_bisson]

thats the most common cause of police officer deaths. Getting killed while working on a traffic stop by other drivers who are careless.
It wouldn't surprise me if cops start blocking the ENTIRE right lane when pulling people over.

[mit-gee-mui]

http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?23014-Ontario-Drivers-Attention-(Highway-Traffic-Act-related)&highlight=demerit

[Charlie S]

Bill 191 of the Highway traffic Act also says:

Motorists will have to slow down and, " where possible and safe to do so",
move to a lane not adjacent to the one in which the emergency vehicle is situated.

[ds2chan]

So, you took somebody else's story and made it your own??

[ZeroChalk]

^+1

lol.. i knew it was chain mail...

[Charlie S]

Chain or no chain, it's good to be reminded.

[S.F.W.]

since this has already been discussed in the above thread provided by MGM, this one is locked.