Orillia OPP have charged three drivers under the recently changed racing/stunt driving section of the Highway Traffic Act (HTA).
On Canada Day, two changes to the HTA took effect as part of the Moving Ontarians More Safely (MOMS) act, which received royal assent on June 3, 2021. The first change is an increase in the vehicle impoundment period to 14 days. The second is the introduction of a lower speed threshold for street racing offenders on municipal roads. On roads with a posted speed limit of less than 80 km/h, drivers caught travelling 40 km/h over the speed limit now face racing/stunt driving charges.
On Canada Day, just before 3 p.m., an officer was conducting radar speed enforcement on Line 3, Oro-Medonte, when a vehicle was observed travelling at a high rate of speed in a 50 km/h zone. The vehicle was subsequently stopped and the driver, a 57-year-old Oro-Medonte man, was charged with Race a motor vehicle – excessive speed.
Juust after 11 p.m. the same day, an officer observed a vehicle departing at a high rate of speed. The officer followed the vehicle on Uhthoff Line, Severn, and, utilizing a radar, determined that the vehicle was travelling over 50 km/h above the 80 km/h speed limit. The vehicle was stopped and the 17-year-old, female driver was charged with Race a motor vehicle – excessive speed.
On July 03, 2021, at 10 a.m., an officer was on patrol on Horseshoe Valley Road, Oro-Medonte, when a vehicle was spotted travelling at over 40 km/h over the posted 70 km/h speed limit. The vehicle was stopped and the driver, a 27-year-old male from Oro-Medonte, was charged with Race a motor vehicle – excessive speed.