Stunt Driving in Ontario: How One Speeding Ticket Becomes a Roadside Suspension
Many drivers — especially newcomers and international students used to different rules back home — are shocked to learn how low Ontario's threshold for "stunt driving" really is. You do not need to be street racing. On a typical city road with a 60 km/h limit, driving 100 km/h is enough.
What Counts as Stunt Driving?
Under Ontario's Highway Traffic Act, stunt driving includes:
- Driving 40 km/h or more over the limit on roads with a speed limit below 80 km/h
- Driving 50 km/h or more over the limit on any other road
- Driving at 150 km/h or more anywhere in the province — including 400-series highways with 110 km/h limits
- Intentionally cutting off another vehicle, preventing others from passing, or driving deliberately close to another vehicle, pedestrian or fixed object
What Happens at the Roadside — Before Any Trial
This is what makes stunt driving different from an ordinary speeding ticket. If police charge you with stunt driving, the penalties start immediately, long before a court decides anything:
- An immediate 30-day driver's licence suspension
- An immediate 14-day vehicle impoundment — and this applies whether or not the car is yours. A borrowed car, a parent's car, or a rental will be towed and impounded all the same, with towing and storage fees on top.
What Happens on Conviction
Stunt driving proceeds by summons — there is no set fine you can simply pay. If convicted, you face:
- A fine of $2,000 to $10,000
- A possible jail term of up to six months
- A further licence suspension: one to three years for a first conviction, three to ten years for a second, and a lifetime suspension for a third (reducible after 10 years in some circumstances)
- A conviction on your driving record that insurers treat very seriously — dramatically higher premiums, or refusal to insure you at all
For novice drivers on a G1 or G2 licence, and for students whose ability to stay in Canada depends on staying out of trouble, the consequences reach even further.
If You Are Charged
Do not simply wait for your court date and hope for the best. The Crown must still prove the charge, the way the speed was measured can be challenged, and in some cases a stunt driving charge can be resolved as a lesser offence that protects your licence and your insurance. Bring your paperwork to a licensed professional as early as possible — the 30-day suspension and impoundment clock starts immediately, but the fight over the conviction is just beginning.
This article is general information only and is not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts.
Traffic Ticket Defence at WP Legal Professional
A stunt driving charge threatens your licence, your insurance, and sometimes your job or studies. At WP Legal Professional, our licensed paralegals defend Highway Traffic Act charges in courts across the Greater Toronto Area, and we serve clients in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Korean.
Act now. Contact us for a confidential consultation before your first court date.