Hi Friends,

Someone I know sent me this on email :

I just had an experience which I hope you will not share.

I was driving on the 417 West at Panmure at broad daylight at 2 p.m.,
when I came upon two police cruisers who had pulled over a third
vehicle. I slowed down to be cautious, and was surprised when the second cruiser pulled out and pulled me over.

Approaching on the passenger side, the officer asked if I knew why I
had been pulled over. I honestly expressed that I had no idea.

He informed me that Ontario law now states that when approaching any
emergency vehicle, on the roadside, with lights flashing, you must enter
the left lane. He then proceeded to ticket me, taking three demerits and
issuing a fine of , wait for it, . . . $490! (Yes, I'm choking as I type that.)

I realize I did not change lanes, but I do believe I was cautious. My
message is, be careful. He said that they are cracking down hard on this
because of three injured officers in the last ten days.

I did not realize this was the law. Neither did any of my recently-licensed
children. Or, evidently, not the 47 drivers (I counted) who broke the same
law as I sat waiting to receive my ticket!

___________________________________________________________________

Hi,

For my part, I saw this happen today (Feb 24th) on Highway 69 South of Sudbury, on the passing lane on the Magnetewan flats.

A cruiser was parked on the shoulder of the southbound lane with his lights flashing. He had no vehicle stopped, he was just parked there.

I was northbound and reduced my speed, the extra lane was on the southbound side so, there were two lanes between me and the cruiser.

A southbound motorist passed the cruiser without moving to the outer lane and the Officer immediately pulled out and gave chase to that driver.

I saw him stopping him in my mirror before going over the next hill. The car did not appear to be speeding, in fact he seemed to slow, but failed to change lanes and was (presumably) stopped for that reason!

Read the actual Law below:

Below is the the excerpt from the Ontario Highway Traffic Act. relating to this offence. It is under section 159.1 (1), (2), (3),(4),(5).


Approaching stopped emergency vehicle

159.1 (1) Upon approaching an emergency vehicle with its lamp producing intermittent flashes of red light or red and blue light that is stopped on a highway, the driver of a vehicle travelling on the same side of the highway shall slow down and proceed with caution, having due regard for traffic on and the conditions of the highway and the weather, to ensure that the driver does not collide with the emergency vehicle or endanger any person outside of the emergency vehicle. 2002, c. 21, s. 1; 2007, c. 13, s. 20.

Same

(2) Upon approaching an emergency vehicle with its lamp producing intermittent flashes of red light that is stopped on a highway with two or more lanes of traffic on the same side of the highway as the side on which the emergency vehicle is stopped, the driver of a vehicle travelling in the same lane that the emergency vehicle is stopped in or in a lane that is adjacent to the emergency vehicle, in addition to slowing down and proceeding with caution as required by subsection (1), shall move into another lane if the movement can be made in safety. 2002, c. 21, s. 1.

Same

(3) Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) prevents a driver from stopping his or her vehicle and not passing the stopped emergency vehicle if stopping can be done in safety and is not otherwise prohibited by law. 2002, c. 21, s. 1.

Offence

(4) Every person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable,

(a) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $400 and not more than $2,000; and

(b) for each subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $1,000 and not more than $4,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both. 2002, c. 21, s. 1.

Time limit for subsequent offence

(5) An offence referred to in subsection (4) committed more than five years after a previous conviction for an offence referred to in subsection (4) is not a subsequent offence for the purpose of clause (4) (b). 2002, c. 21, s. 1

I dont know if this is a hoax or anyone on this board has experienced this. Anyways, its better to be safe than sorry...so take care next time you pass those flashing light....

Hiren

Found a related new item .......

Stay clear of emergency vehicles, OPP campaign warns

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/02/20/emergency-vehicle.html?ref=rss

Important information, Even i am driving last 2 years i didn't know about these law. nexttime i will be careful before passing in these kind of situations.


Thx

ignorance of the law is not a valid defense.

people, let us do all we can to keep our law enforcement and emergency responders safe!

imho, i would be ok if the demerits and fines are even higher.

now how about this scenario..... jamm packed don valley parkway during rush hour, traffic is crawling at 5 km/hr. a police cruiser is pulled over to the side with lights on.

if you are in the curb lane, when you see the lights .. do you start moving to the left lane? i'm sure you'd do it if every car in front of you did so. but now i just see people drive slowly past the cruiser with no ticket, no warning, no demerits and no fine. is this the law or not??!?!?

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happily holi day!

Quote:

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Originally posted by hchheda

Hi Friends,

Someone I know sent me this on email :

I just had an experience which I hope you will not share.

I was driving on the 417 West at Panmure at broad daylight at 2 p.m.,
when I came upon two police cruisers who had pulled over a third
vehicle. I slowed down to be cautious, and was surprised when the second cruiser pulled out and pulled me over.

Approaching on the passenger side, the officer asked if I knew why I
had been pulled over. I honestly expressed that I had no idea.

He informed me that Ontario law now states that when approaching any
emergency vehicle, on the roadside, with lights flashing, you must enter
the left lane. He then proceeded to ticket me, taking three demerits and
issuing a fine of , wait for it, . . . $490! (Yes, I'm choking as I type that.)

I realize I did not change lanes, but I do believe I was cautious. My
message is, be careful. He said that they are cracking down hard on this
because of three injured officers in the last ten days.

I did not realize this was the law. Neither did any of my recently-licensed
children. Or, evidently, not the 47 drivers (I counted) who broke the same
law as I sat waiting to receive my ticket!

___________________________________________________________________

Hi,

For my part, I saw this happen today (Feb 24th) on Highway 69 South of Sudbury, on the passing lane on the Magnetewan flats.

A cruiser was parked on the shoulder of the southbound lane with his lights flashing. He had no vehicle stopped, he was just parked there.

I was northbound and reduced my speed, the extra lane was on the southbound side so, there were two lanes between me and the cruiser.

A southbound motorist passed the cruiser without moving to the outer lane and the Officer immediately pulled out and gave chase to that driver.

I saw him stopping him in my mirror before going over the next hill. The car did not appear to be speeding, in fact he seemed to slow, but failed to change lanes and was (presumably) stopped for that reason!

Read the actual Law below:

Below is the the excerpt from the Ontario Highway Traffic Act. relating to this offence. It is under section 159.1 (1), (2), (3),(4),(5).


Approaching stopped emergency vehicle

159.1 (1) Upon approaching an emergency vehicle with its lamp producing intermittent flashes of red light or red and blue light that is stopped on a highway, the driver of a vehicle travelling on the same side of the highway shall slow down and proceed with caution, having due regard for traffic on and the conditions of the highway and the weather, to ensure that the driver does not collide with the emergency vehicle or endanger any person outside of the emergency vehicle. 2002, c. 21, s. 1; 2007, c. 13, s. 20.

Same

(2) Upon approaching an emergency vehicle with its lamp producing intermittent flashes of red light that is stopped on a highway with two or more lanes of traffic on the same side of the highway as the side on which the emergency vehicle is stopped, the driver of a vehicle travelling in the same lane that the emergency vehicle is stopped in or in a lane that is adjacent to the emergency vehicle, in addition to slowing down and proceeding with caution as required by subsection (1), shall move into another lane if the movement can be made in safety. 2002, c. 21, s. 1.

Same

(3) Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) prevents a driver from stopping his or her vehicle and not passing the stopped emergency vehicle if stopping can be done in safety and is not otherwise prohibited by law. 2002, c. 21, s. 1.

Offence

(4) Every person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable,

(a) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $400 and not more than $2,000; and

(b) for each subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $1,000 and not more than $4,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both. 2002, c. 21, s. 1.

Time limit for subsequent offence

(5) An offence referred to in subsection (4) committed more than five years after a previous conviction for an offence referred to in subsection (4) is not a subsequent offence for the purpose of clause (4) (b). 2002, c. 21, s. 1

I dont know if this is a hoax or anyone on this board has experienced this. Anyways, its better to be safe than sorry...so take care next time you pass those flashing light....

Hiren

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happily holi day!

Hiren are you going to dispute for the fine as no knowledge or pay the full amt. I would adviced you to speak with any of the traffic people sometimes it can be ur luck to pay half of that fine. I know someone who was pull over by police on the diamond sign lane and he dispute as no knowledge and paid half of the fine and also he was ticketed for driving with an expiry sticker on the same day and that fine was widthdraw as he told the judge he was not aware tht his sticker was expired. so why not try your luck at least some demerits points you can save and some bucks too

Quote:

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Originally posted by 905Desi


"(a) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $400 and not more than $2,000; and
"

hiren,
look on the happy side, your $490 fine is v. cheap considering it could range from $400 to $2,000.

at least you didn't get a $1,999 fine!

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