There is a new and very draconian (in my opinion) law in Ontario about driving. It's supposed to be about racing, driving and stunts. If you engage in these activities, you may have your licence suspended and vehicle impounded immediately without a trial right there on the road.You are allowed to have a trial, but later, and you will still have to pay towing charges, (which could exceed one thousand dollars) and of course your licence cannot be reinstated retroactively if you are innocent.
The most positive aspect of this law is if it gets the crazy racers and stunters off the road and save a few lives. Many of those lives are innocent civilians.
The negative is that you may have cops who are having a bad day, interpret the most innocent acts as racing or stunting. Don't think it can happen? There are two rules that are universal. The first one is the "Hugh Grant Law" that no matter how sexy and beautiful a girl is, the guy who is dating her wants someone else. The second law which I will call the "Abu Ghraib Law" is that if you give guys unlimited power over other people, they eventually abuse it.
Here is the wording of the Racing and Stunting Laws
I was particularly interested by this one, as I had no clue what stupid dangerous act they were trying to prevent
"Driving a motor vehicle with a driver not sitting in the driver's seat."So I decided to do a bit of research at the toll free 24 hour OPP help line at 1-888-310-1122, as they have always been courteous and helpful.
I said "I have a question about stunt driving. I think I understand how "driving while the driver is not sitting in the driver's seat" applies to a car, but not how it applies to a motorcycle."
She answered. "It means standing on the seat."
I said "So we're not talking about lifting your behind temporarily off the seat or standing on the footpegs?"
She said "That's right, stunt driving does not apply to that."
If my bladder stone is causing any pain, I lift myself off the seat going over a rough bump in the road. It is a safe practice, for me anyway, because I have a lot of experience standing up like a dirt bike rider. But I am still a little worried that somebody could misinterpret this poorly worded law and suspend my licence and take my bike, leaving me stranded.
Why not at least word it more precisely? What they are really talking about here is a motorcyclist riding while sitting on the handlebars, standing on the seat or somewhere else, or in the case of cars, the new craze of "ghost riding", of which there are hundreds of videos. Many of the videos are too stupid to even watch, but this one gives you the basic idea of Ghost Riding.
These regulations came into effect in 2007. Since then I have come across a number of reports that riders have been hassled by cops for lifting their butts off the seat while their bike was in motion.
ReplyDeleteFor example, Rui Garrafa of Mississauga reported (New speed/stunt law surprises the unwary), 'I was heading south on Hwy. 10 near Hwy. 9, when I was pulled over by an OPP officer on patrol [who] had seen me standing on the pegs so I could stretch my legs. {He] stated that under the Highway Traffic Act's new 'Regulation 455/07, Definition Stunt,' he could impound my bike and suspend my licence for a week.'
No ticket was issued, so I suppose that cop was only having a 'semi-bad' day. And, hopefully, in the interval since that report was posted, a more consistent approach is being taken by the OPP.
Meanwhile, some parts of the regulation have been ruled unconstitutional, with the Province promising to appeal.