Licence suspension is a common charge and there are many reasons under the Highway Traffic Act that a driver can have his or her licence suspended. They are all considered serious and can happen a few different ways.
Your licence could be suspended through 3 different scenarios.
The first is a roadside suspension. This happens when a police officer pulls over a driver and immediately suspends the driver and has the vehicle impounded. This could be because:
- The driver is over the legal Blood Alcohol Concentration level
- The driver fails or refuses to give a breath sample when asked by police
- A stunt driving charge
- the driver’s licence is under a previous suspension
The next is a punitive suspension ordered by the court upon conviction of an offence. This could be:
- Criminal driving convictions (impaired and/or dangerous driving)
- Driving under suspension
- Careless driving
- Stunt driving
- Operating a vehicle without insurance
- The driver fails to stop for a police officer and court believes that the driver tried to escape police
- Failure to insure the vehicle
The third is an administrative suspension that a driver receives from the Ministry of Transportation. This happens when a driver:
- Accumulates too many demerit points on his/her driving record
- Fails to attend a demerit point interview on his/her driving record
- Has a demerit point interview that is unsatisfactory
- Fails to pay claim/court judgment
- Fails to attend a remedial measures program as a result of a sentence by the court
- Fails to file a vision report when requested
- Does not pay court-ordered child or spousal support
- Does not pay a traffic fine when ordered by a court after a conviction
- Has a medical condition that a doctor believes could affect your ability to drive safely
If a driver DOES drive while under licence suspension, there are some hefty consequences.
If you are caught driving while under licence suspension, this is the charge:
53 (1) Driving while driver’s licence suspended
Every person who drives a motor vehicle or street car on a highway while his or her driver’s licence is suspended under an Act of the Legislature or a regulation made thereunder is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable,
(a) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $1,000 and not more than $5,000; and
(b) for each subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $2,000 and not more than $5,000,
or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both.
As well as the above fines and penalties, if a driver is already driving while his or her licence is suspended, he or she receives an additional 6 months of licence suspension.
For a subsequent offence to apply, it must be within 5 years of the previous conviction.
Clearly, there are many ways a licence suspension can happen and they don’t always fall under the HTA. Suspensions could range from 3 days, to 6 months, or up to 10 years in some circumstances (like fleeing from a police pursuit which results in a death).
Depending on the reason why the licence was suspended, the path to having it reinstated changes. Generally to have a licence reinstated, a driver must pay any outstanding fines, complete certain court processes or court-ordered programs and/or gather documents that say the suspension has been lifted. This could mean a Notice of Suspension, a medical letter, an affidavit etc. Then the driver must pay the reinstatement fee ($198, unless for a medical reason) and, depending how long the licence was suspended, re-take some tests. Medical suspensions are appealed through the Licence Appeal Tribunal held by the MTO.
Novice drivers have more stringent restrictions which causes them to lose their licences much easier. (We will cover these in another blog post)
Every situation is different. Remember you have a right to fight your ticket. At Bulwark Legal Services we provide free consultations. You can go to our website and send us a copy of your ticket. We will help you decide the right course of action to take.
