Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act: Rules, Offences, and Demerit Points

Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act is the province’s main law for anyone using a public road, whether behind the wheel, on a bike, or on foot. It sets speed limits, licensing rules, insurance and equipment standards, and the penalties for breaking them, from small fines through licence suspensions to jail time for the most serious offences. Everything below draws from the Act itself and the regulations and enforcement rules that sit under it.

Speed Limits You Are Held To

Inside any city, town, village, or built-up area, the default speed limit is 50 km/h unless a sign says otherwise.¹ Outside built-up areas, the default is 80 km/h. Those numbers are ceilings for ideal conditions. Rain, fog, ice, or heavy traffic legally require a slower speed even when no lower limit is posted.

On the 400-series expressways, posted limits run from 100 km/h up to 110 km/h on select stretches in northern Ontario.² The higher limit only applies where it is signed; assuming 110 km/h across the whole of Highway 400 or the QEW will put you over the limit in sections that stayed at 100.

Rules of the Road

Right-of-Way at Intersections

At an intersection with no stop sign, yield sign, or signal, you yield to any vehicle that entered before you. When two vehicles enter at roughly the same time from different directions, the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right.¹ Simple on paper, and endlessly muddled at four-way stops when drivers wave each other through.

Signalling and Lane Use

Before turning, entering a driveway, or changing lanes, you must signal clearly enough that other drivers can see it. The Act requires signals to be visible from both the front and rear of your vehicle at a distance of at least 30 metres.¹ Failing to signal carries two demerit points.³ The left lane is for passing; a driver who lingers there and blocks faster traffic can be charged with failing to share the road.

Pedestrians and Cyclists

At a pedestrian crossover, you must stop before entering it and cannot proceed until the pedestrian has completely left the roadway. You also cannot pass another vehicle that has already stopped at a crossover.¹ The pedestrian must be fully off the road, not just past your lane.

When passing a cyclist, you must leave at least one metre of space between your vehicle and the bike, measured from the rightmost edge of your vehicle (mirrors included) to the leftmost edge of the bicycle (handlebars included).¹ If the lane is too narrow to leave that metre while staying in your lane, wait or change lanes entirely.

Licences, Plates, and the Graduated System

Every driver must carry a valid licence matching the class of vehicle they are operating, and every vehicle needs a valid registration producing a permit and plates. On a traffic stop you must produce your licence, vehicle permit, and proof of insurance. Driving without a licence carries a set fine of $260; operating a commercial vehicle without the proper class costs $310; driving without plates is $85.⁴

One point of ongoing confusion: Ontario eliminated licence plate validation stickers in March 2022 for passenger vehicles, light-duty trucks, motorcycles, and mopeds.⁵ You still renew your registration, but no physical sticker goes on the plate.

New drivers move through a three-stage graduated licensing system. At the G1 stage, you cannot drive alone: a fully licensed driver with at least four years of experience must sit in the front passenger seat, and their blood alcohol level must be under 0.05%. G1 holders are barred from 400-series highways with speed limits above 80 km/h and from several high-speed roads in the GTA, including the QEW, Don Valley Parkway, and Gardiner Expressway. Driving between midnight and 5 a.m. is prohibited, and your own blood alcohol level must be zero.⁶

G2 holders can drive alone on any road, still at zero blood alcohol. If you are 19 or under, passenger limits apply between midnight and 5 a.m.: only one passenger aged 19 or under during your first six months with a G2, up to three after that. Those limits do not apply when a fully licensed driver sits in the front passenger seat or when the passengers are immediate family.⁶ Any driver aged 21 or under, regardless of class, must keep a zero blood alcohol level.

Insurance Is Not Optional

Every vehicle must carry automobile insurance before it touches a public road. The Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act sets a minimum coverage level tied to section 251 of the Insurance Act, covering liability for bodily injury, death, and property damage, along with statutory accident benefits.⁷

The penalties are among the harshest anywhere in the Act. A first conviction carries a fine between $5,000 and $25,000. A second jumps to $10,000 to $50,000. The court can also suspend your licence for up to a year and order your vehicle impounded for up to three months.⁷

Vehicle Condition and Child Passengers

Your vehicle has to stay mechanically sound. Headlights, brake lights, and turn signals must all work. Mirrors and windows cannot be obstructed in ways that block your view, and wipers must clear the glass in rain or snow.

Tires must have at least 1.5 mm of tread depth in any two adjacent grooves at three equally spaced points around the tire. Front tires on heavier vehicles rated above 4,500 kilograms need at least 3 mm.⁸ By 1.5 mm a tire is well past its useful life for wet grip; most manufacturers recommend replacement around 3.2 mm.

Child restraint rules go by weight and height, not age. Children under 9 kilograms must ride in a rear-facing seat. Between 9 and 18 kilograms, a forward-facing child restraint. Between 18 and 36 kilograms and shorter than 145 centimetres, a booster seat with a lap and shoulder belt.⁹ The driver is responsible for every child passenger being properly secured, and failing that adds two demerit points.³

Distracted Driving

Using a handheld phone or other electronic device while driving is illegal, and the penalties climb sharply with repeats. For fully licensed drivers, a first conviction brings a fine of $615 settled out of court (up to $1,000 if contested and lost), three demerit points, and a three-day licence suspension.¹⁰

A second conviction means a seven-day suspension, up to $2,000 in fines, and six demerit points. A third or later means a 30-day suspension, up to $3,000, and six demerit points.¹⁰

Novice drivers face the same fine structure but longer suspensions: 30 days for a first offence, 90 days for a second, and cancellation of the licence for a third, with removal from the graduated licensing system. A cancelled novice driver restarts the licensing process from scratch.¹⁰ Hands-free devices, GPS navigation, and calling 911 remain permitted.

Impaired Driving

Penalties are tiered by blood alcohol concentration. The “warn range” applies at a BAC between 0.05 and 0.079, or when you fail a standard field sobriety test. Even at this level the penalties are immediate:¹¹

First time: 7-day immediate licence suspension, mandatory education course, $250 penalty.
Second time: 14-day suspension, treatment program, $350 penalty.
Third time: 30-day suspension, treatment program, ignition interlock for six months, $450 penalty.

At a BAC of 0.08 or higher, or for refusing or failing a drug or alcohol test, a first offence brings an immediate 90-day roadside licence suspension, 7-day vehicle impoundment, and a $550 penalty. Second and third offences carry the same 90-day suspension and 7-day impoundment, with mandatory treatment programs and potential ignition interlock added.¹¹ Those are the administrative penalties alone, before any criminal charges under the Criminal Code of Canada.

Young and novice drivers face a zero-tolerance standard for alcohol. Any detectable amount triggers a 7-day suspension on a first offence, 14 days on a second, and 30 days on a third, along with fines up to $1,000 if convicted.¹¹

Stunt Driving and Street Racing

Stunt driving carries some of the harshest penalties in the Act, and the definition is broader than most drivers realize. You can be charged for exceeding the limit by 40 km/h or more on roads posted below 80 km/h, by 50 km/h or more where the limit is 80 km/h or higher, or for driving 150 km/h or more regardless of the posted limit.¹²

Speed is only part of it. Intentionally spinning your tires, driving with someone in the trunk, weaving aggressively to block other vehicles, and performing a “left turn on red” to beat oncoming traffic all qualify as stunts under the regulation.¹²

Roadside consequences are automatic: a 30-day licence suspension and 14-day vehicle impoundment. If convicted, the fine ranges from $2,000 to $10,000, with up to six months in jail and six demerit points. A first conviction adds a licence suspension of one to three years. A second means three to ten years. A fourth results in a lifetime suspension.¹³

After a Collision

If you are involved in a collision that causes personal injury or property damage above the amount set by regulation, you must report it to the nearest police officer immediately. That duty also applies specifically when a vehicle door strikes a cyclist or bicycle, even if the vehicle was parked.¹ If police direct you to a collision reporting centre, go there right away.

Failing to remain at the scene is one of the most serious offences in the Act, carrying seven demerit points — the highest single-offence value in the system.³ Failing to report a collision carries three points.

Demerit Points, Fines, and Community Safety Zones

Demerit points stay on your record for two years from the offence date. Points are assigned per conviction and range from two to seven depending on severity:³

7 points: failing to remain at a collision scene; failing to stop for a police officer.
6 points: careless driving; racing; exceeding the limit by 50 km/h or more.
4 points: exceeding the limit by 30 to 49 km/h; following too closely.
3 points: using a handheld device; exceeding the limit by 16 to 29 km/h; failing to obey a traffic signal or stop sign; wrong-way driving.
2 points: improper turns; failing to signal; driver not wearing a seat belt; failing to properly secure a child passenger.

Fully licensed drivers get a warning letter at six to eight points. At nine to eleven points, the Ministry schedules an interview. At fifteen points, your licence is automatically suspended for 30 days and you must surrender it.³ Novice drivers face tighter thresholds: G1 and G2 holders can be suspended at just four points.

Community safety zones — often around schools and other high-risk locations — carry doubled minimum fines for offences like careless driving and racing when committed inside them.¹ The maximum stays the same, but the floor rises. Drivers who fail to slow down for stopped emergency vehicles or tow trucks with flashing lights also pick up three demerit points on top of the fine.³

1
Government of Ontario. Ontario Highway Traffic Act RSO 1990 c H8
2
Government of Ontario. Ontario Raising Highway Speed Limits
3
Government of Ontario. Understanding Demerit Points
4
Ontario Court of Justice. Highway Traffic Act Set Fines
5
Government of Ontario. Ontario Eliminating Licence Plate Renewal Fees and Stickers
6
Government of Ontario. Getting Your Drivers Licence – Official MTO Drivers Handbook
7
Government of Ontario. Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act RSO 1990 c C25
8
Government of Ontario. Ontario Regulation 625 – Tire Standards and Specifications
9
Government of Ontario. Ontario Regulation 613 – Seat Belt Assemblies
10
Government of Ontario. Distracted Driving
11
Government of Ontario. Impaired Driving
12
Government of Ontario. Ontario Regulation 455/07 – Races Contests and Stunts
13
Government of Ontario. Speeding and Aggressive Driving