Nov 27, 2008
Written by By Guillaume Kishibe, Editorial Intern (Excalibur)
Wednesday, 26 November 2008
Driving laws tightened last Tuesday as Premier Dalton McGuinty introduced a proposed bill into the Ontario legislation intending to lower motor vehicle accidents involving young drivers. The Road Safety Act, proposed Nov. 18, intends to adopt a zero-tolerance stance on both speeding and drinking for persons under 21 and threatens to revoke their licenses should they be caught committing such an offense.
More controversially, the proposed bill prohibits teen drivers from
having more than one passenger under the age of 19 in the car, although
this restriction doesn?t apply to family members. The bill also intends
to extend the period a new driver must wait to obtain a G1 or G2 license; in addition, it will give police the power to impound vehicles
for up to seven days during a roadside stop.
Tim Mulcahy, whose son, Tyler, died in a crash in the Joseph River near a Muskoka resort during the summer, joined Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in prompting the introduction of the legislation. ?Every day two people are killed and 10 more seriously injured on Ontario?s roads,? said Jim Bradley, Ontario minister of transportation, as he introduced the act during a Nov. 18 speech. ?Many of these collisions are preventable. To combat some of the most persistent and dangerous driver behaviours, we need to make drivers understand the consequences. Today, I am introducing new legislation that will, if passed, keep our young drivers safe and get drunk drivers off our roads.
?Teenage G2 drivers have a high rate of collisions when carrying other teenagers. We will restrict teenaged G2 drivers from carrying more than one young passenger ? aged 19 and under ? at any time during the first year of G2. We will introduce escalating sanctions for repeat violations of Graduated Licensing System restrictions, and convictions that carry demerit points and court-ordered suspensions. There will be a 30-day license suspension for the first conviction, 90-day suspension for the second conviction and a return to the start of G1 for the third conviction. ?We are making progress when it comes to impaired drivers.? Support for the bill, however, hasn?t been universal.
?This bill is a bill that seeks to lower the death and injury ratio on Ontario highways based on putting further restrictions on younger people,? said Thornhill Progressive-Conservative MPP Peter Shurman. ?And it?s something with which our party disagrees. We, like everybody else, believe that the roads have to be safer, but the idea of creating classes of citizens in that context isn?t in keeping with our principles given that you have G1s and G2s that have certain restrictions and then a G driver?s license. The feeling is that if you can die in Afghanistan, if you can fly an airplane ? which you can get a license to do at 16 ? if you can drink, which you can do in this province at 18, get married, have children, the concept of introducing age into the equation doesn?t make any sense.? ?While we welcome initiatives that improve road safety, we don?t think the bill has been well thought out.?
Opposition to the bill has also gone beyond the Legislature Building. Several groups on the online social network Facebook have garnered considerable support like Young Drivers Against New Ontario Laws, which has over 111,000 members and has even set a date for a protest at Queen?s Park.