Tickets And Accidents

Tickets that affect your driver’s licence or insurance are issued under the Highway Traffic Act, Insurance Act or Criminal.

These tickets are divided into 3 classifications, minor, major and serious including criminal. All ticket classifications, regardless if demerit point have, or have not been taken off affect your insurance rate.

Parking Tickets

The consequences of not paying your parking tickets is that the plate portion of your driver's licence will not be renewed and you will not be able to get that renewal "sticker". Parking tickets do not appear on your driver abstract and do not affect your driving or insurance record.

Minor, Major & Serious Tickets

Here’s a list of tickets considered, minor, major and serious (including criminal), note that CAIA refers to Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act. The actual wording of the infraction may vary slightly from province to province or state to state:

          Minor Convictions

• Crowding Drivers Seat
• Defective Brakes
• Drivers Licence Violations
• Failing To Share Road
• Failing To Signal
• Failure To Use Seatbelts
• Failing To Yield
• Failing To Yield To Pedestrian
• Failure To Surrender Your Licence
• Failure To Produce Evidence Of Insurance
• Failure To Produce Or Carry Insurance Card
• Following Too Closely
• Headlight Offences
• Improper Driving In A Bus Lane
• Improper Lane Change
• Improper Opening Of Door
• Improper Passing
• Improper Towing
• Improper Turn
• Improper Use Of Divided Highway
• Insecure Load
• Any Unspecified Minor Conviction
• Obstructing Traffic
• Overload
• Radar warning device
• Railway Crossing
• Speeding
• Stop Sign
• Stunting
• Traffic Light
• Trailer Passenger
• Unnecessary Noise
• Unnecessary Slow Driving
• Unsafe Move
• Unsafe Or Prohibited Turn
• Unsafe Vehicle
• View Obstructed
• Wrong Way On One Way

          Major Convictions    

• Failing To Report An Accident
• Driving With No Insurance
• Failure To Report Damage To Highway Property
• Failure To Give Name & Licence Number At An Accident Scene
• False Statement Of Insurance
• Insurance Offences
• All Unspecified Major Convictions
• Operating Motor Vehicle With No Insurance
• Driving In Contravention Of Restrictions
• Produce False Evidence
• School Bus Improper Passing, Fail To Stop
• School Playground Improper Passing Zone
• Speeding 50km Or More (varies from company to company)
• Vehicle Owner Without Insurance
• G1 (Beginner’s Licence) Accompanying Driver's Fail/Refuse To Provide Breathalyser
• G1 Drive Unaccompanied By Qualified Driver
• G1 Accompanied Driver Excess Blood Alcohol
• G1 Drive With Front Seat Passenger
• G1/G2 Drive With Excess Passengers
• G1 Drive On Prohibited Highway
• G1/M1 (Beginner’s Motorcycle Licence) Drive At Unlawful Hour
• M1 Drive Motorcycle With Passenger
• M1 Drive Motorcycle On Prohibited Highway

       Serious and Criminal Convictions  

• Blood Alcohol Over .08 (or limit in your province or state)
• Careless Driving; Undue Care Or Attention.
• Criminal Negligence
• Dangerous Driving
• Driving While Under Suspension
• Drunk Driving
• Failing To Obey Police
• Failing To Remain
• Impaired Driving
• Motor Manslaughter
• Racing
• Refuse Breathalyser
• Serious Conviction; unspecified
• G1/G2 drive with alcohol in blood / M1/M2 drive with alcohol in blood

Licence Ramifications

Drivers convicted of certain driving-related offences have demerit points recorded on their driving records. It is a common misconception that drivers "lose" points due to convictions for certain traffic offences. In fact, a driver begins with zero demerit points and accumulates demerit points for convictions. Demerit points stay on your record for two years from the offence date. If you collect enough points, you can have your driver's licence suspended.

Demerit Points & New Drivers

Demerit Points & Fully Licensed Drivers

Demerit points are actually points assigned by the Ministry of Transportation and have no bearing on your insurance. Those points determine whether a driver licence is renewed or if the driver needs remedial driver training or any kind of driver course available through the Ministry.

If you get six demerit points, you will be informed about your driving record. At nine points, you may have to go to an interview to discuss your record and give reasons why your licence should not be suspended. You may also have to complete a driver re-examination (vision, knowledge and road tests). If you fail, your licence will be suspended.

If you fail to attend an interview, or fail to give good reasons for keeping your licence, your licence may be suspended.

At 15 or more points, your licence will be suspended for 30 days from the date you surrender it to the Ministry of Transportation for the first suspension. You can lose your licence for up to two years if you fail to surrender your licence. A driver's licence may be surrendered at any Driver & Vehicle Licence Issuing Office.

After the suspension, the number of points on your record will be reduced to seven. Any extra points could again bring you to the interview level. If you reach 15 points again, your licence will be suspended for six months.

All convictions remain on your driving record for three years from the date of conviction, while demerit points come off your record after two years from the date of the offence. Pardons only apply to criminal driving offences, if granted. All driver licence suspensions will affect your insurance rates.

Insurance Ramifications

Seat belt tickets, tickets for not carrying proper ID such as your licence or insurance, and the combination of these types of tickets, can put you at risk of losing your licence or can cause your insurance company to cancel you, forcing you into the high-risk insurance markets.

Over half of insurance companies will increase your insurance rate for one traffic ticket up to $500. All insurance companies will increase your rate for two tickets, up to $1,500. Three tickets can cause an insurance company to cancel your insurance policy.

One minor traffic violation, for a driver with a combination of tickets and accidents, can increase their rate by over $7,000*.

Here's an insurance rate comparison, for the same car, from 30 insurance company rates. The only difference is the driver's record.

Record      Lowest     Highest     Difference

Clean          $1,321      $2,852       $1,531

1 ticket        $1,621      $4,784       $3,163

2 tickets       $1,871      $5,424       $3,553

1 accident    $2,805     $11,301       $8,496

1 tic/1acc     $3,115    $11,301       $8,186*

As you can see, a ticket has huge financial consequences.

Tickets stay on your driver abstract and insurance record for three long years. Driver licence suspensions count for six years. If you are fighting your ticket, it's good to know that the "date" insurance companies look at is the date you are convicted of the ticket "IN COURT" not the date the ticket was written.

If you get a few tickets back to back, fighting a ticket through the courts will allow you to postpone the date the ticket or tickets would show up on your driver abstract, if you lose.