More MOMS Act changes for stunt driving take effect soon

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Earlier this summer, the Ontario government introduced the Moving Ontarians More Safely (MOMS) Act to combat high-risk driving behaviour and improve road safety , as well as introduce reforms to the towing and storage industry. 

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The Act sees increased penalties and lowering thresholds for stunt driving charges. The changes have been released in stages throughout 2021, with more coming into effect soon.

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More MOMS Act changes for stunt driving take effect soon Back to video

Updates to the law

Stunt driving can be classified as engaging in excessive speeding, street racing, and other dangerous driving practices on an Ontario road or highway. On roadways with posted speed limits of 80 km/h and less, stunt driving charges take effect at 40 km/h over the speed limit, and at 50 km/h over on roadways with speed limits higher than 80 km/h. Other specific acts that constitute as stunt driving include burnouts, cutting other drivers off, passing too closely, or driving with people in your trunk.

Effective September 12, automatic licence suspension for street racing/stunt driving will increase from 7 days to 30 days.

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Other penalties related to post-stunt driving conviction licence suspension in Ontario will be coming into effect “at a later date,” according to a spokesperson from the Ministry of Transportation. These penalties include:  

Drivers may also face a fine of up to $10,000 (the highest fine for stunt driving related offences in Canada).

In a statement issued in May, Ontario Vice-President at the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) Kim Donaldson said the Act will make roads and highways safer.

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“IBC commends the government and members of the Ontario Legislature that helped pass this legislation in record time … dangerous driving has no place on our roads, as it puts innocent drivers and pedestrians at risk. We are pleased to see that this legislation will combat high-risk driving through stiffer fines and increased penalties for dangerous drivers who engage in stunt driving, street racing, and aggressive driving. The MOMS Act paves the way for safer roads.”

How a stunt driving charge could impact your car insurance premiums

Engaging in stunt driving could not only result in a serious collision and fine; it will surely raise your insurance rates should you be convicted. 

In order to demonstrate the severity of the increase, we turned to internal data from the LowestRates.ca car insurance quoter .

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If a 31-year-old male living in London, Ont. came to our site with an otherwise clean driving record, the lowest rate he could get would jump by 34 per cent  if he had one stunt driving conviction within the last three years. This means, hypothetically, that for someone paying $1,000 per year in insurance, their rate would jump to $1,340 after just one stunting conviction. 

The test quote above was for a driver with a full G licence, who’s been consistently insured since 2006, and with his current insurance company for three years. The vehicle we used was a financed four-door 2017 Nissan Qashqai S with all-wheel drive. We included comprehensive and collision coverage, with a driving range of about 10,000 kilometres annually. 

As you can see, it doesn’t pay to break the rules of the road, so keep road safety top of mind and drive the speed limit, while practicing defensive driving to keep your car insurance rates affordable. 

LowestRates.ca is a free and independent rate comparison website that allows Canadians to compare rates from 75+ providers for various financial products, such as auto and home insurance, mortgages, and credit cards.