Ontario Road Safety Annual Report 2003

7. Conviction, Offence and Suspension Data

This section takes a look at convictions related to both the Highway Traffic Act and the Criminal Code of Canada.

Since December 1996, drivers whose Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) is over the legal limit (.08), or who fail or refuse a breath test have had their driver's licences suspended immediately for 90 days under the Administrative Driver's Licence Suspension (ADLS) Program. This 90-day suspension is separate and distinct from any criminal charges a driver faces in court. ADLS suspensions issued decreased from 19,930 in 2002 to 18,367 in 2003.

Figure 7 Per Cent of Motor Vehicle Convictions in Ontario, 2003

7A. Conviction Data

Table 7.1
Summary of Motor Vehicle Related Convictions 2003

Convictions*	Number
Highway Traffic Act	1,136,076
Regulations under the H.T.A	13,364
Criminal Code of Canada**	18,266
Municipal By-Law***	35
Motor Vehicle Collision Claim/Compulsory Insurance Act	65,918
Motorized Snow Vehicles Act	2,395
Off-Road Vehicles Act	1,472
Out of Province Exchange (HTA)	27,499
Others****	365
Total	1,265,390

* Includes manually recorded convictions.

** This figure does not include 395 convictions for young offenders under the Criminal Code.

*** In previous years a large portion of convictions under H.T.A. Regulations were allocated to convictions under Municipal By-Law.

**** Others may include acts not listed above, such as Fuel Tax Act, Truck Transport Act, Dangerous Goods Transport Act and Motor Vehicle Transportation Act.

Table 7.2
Motor Vehicle Convictions Related to the Highway Traffic Act 2003

Convictions	Number
Equipment	23,362
Administrative*	143,029
Seat Belt (Driver & Passenger)**	62,685
Other Non-Pointable Convictions ***	40,055
Speeding	716,120
Other Pointable Convictions (2 - 4 pts)	128,518
Other Pointable Convictions (5 - 7 pts)	13,026
Driving While Suspended	9,281
Total	1,136,076

* Non-moving, weight, vehicle registration, licence renewal, etc.

** Failure to wear seat belt convictions registered against passengers over 16 are no longer included.

*** Now includes some out-of-province convictions.

Table 7.3
Motor Vehicle Convictions Related to the Criminal Code 2003*

Convictions	Number
Alcohol Related**	14,336
Criminal Negligence	20
Fail to Remain at Collision	620
Fail to Stop for Police Officer	393
Driving While Disqualified	1,817
Dangerous Driving	1,080
Motor Manslaughter	0
Total	18,266

* Does not include 395 convictions for young offenders.

** Includes some out-of-province convictions.

7B. Offence Data

Table 7.4
Number of Convicted Drivers* with Criminal Code of Canada Offences, During the Specified Years

Conviction Type	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Criminal Negligence	34	31	17	18	18	5
Fail to Remain	437	242	234	196	169	92
Dangerous Driving	1,150	1,009	959	1,021	860	514
Impaired Driving	9,532	9,103	9,224	8,743	7,603	4535
Blood/Alcohol over .08	7,366	7,150	7,095	7,043	5,905	3471
Fail to Provide Breath Sample	1,269	1,362	1,270	1,201	964	493
Driving While Disqualified	2,339	2,027	1,976	1,777	1,677	1161
Motor Manslaughter	0	0	0	0	0	1
Undefined	0	0	0	0	0	1
Total	22,127	20,924	20,775	19,999	17,196	10,273

* The same driver can be represented in this table more than once.
As of March 25, 2004, there were 10,273 Criminal Code offences recorded for 2003. The 2003 breakdown will be updated in the 2004 annual report to accommodate the lag time in the recording of offences (offences are only recorded on driver records upon conviction).

Table 7.5
Adminstrative Driver Licence Suspension (ADLS) Monthly Suspensions Issued 2003*

Month	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
January	1,337	1,352	1,550	1,500	1,416	1,349
February	1,471	1,567	1,487	1,450	1,452	1,391
March	1,608	1,664	1,662	1,874	1,683	1,566
April	1,681	1,592	1,799	1,816	1,574	1,412
May	1,801	1,763	1,634	1,752	1,756	1,578
June	1,665	1,531	1,646	1,768	1,811	1,608
July	1,665	1,720	1,854	1,795	1,712	1,589
August	1,750	1,660	1,808	1,699	1,675	1,639
September	1,609	1,570	1,699	1,837	1,720	1,498
October	1,663	1,839	1,724	1,691	1,671	1,568
November	1,617	1,686	1,624	1,790	1,668	1,591
December	1,810	1,760	1,879	1,986	1,792	1,578
Total	19,677	19,704	20,366	20,958	19,930	18,367

* Adminstrative Driver License Suspension (ADLS) began on November 29, 1996.
See Appendix for a more detailed explanation of ADLS.

7C. Suspension Data

Table 7.6
Demerit Point Suspensions by Driver Age 2003

Driver Age	Probationary	Novice First Accumulation	Novice Second Accumulation	Regular First Accumulation	Regular Second Accumulation
16	0	1	0	0	0
17	0	36	1	0	0
18	0	303	8	5	0
19	0	649	40	24	0
20-24	0	1,928	231	448	33
25-34	2	621	101	697	53
35-44	1	224	16	374	31
45-54	2	80	7	160	7
55-64	0	11	6	63	3
65-74	0	1	0	7	0
75 +	0	1	0	0	0
Total	5	3,855	410	1,778	127

Since 1994, novice drivers have been under the Graduated Licensing System. These drivers are subject to escalating actions, from a warning letter at 2 to 5 demerit points, an interview at 6 to 8 points and a 60-day suspension for a first accumulation of 9 points. After a first suspension, the demerit points are reduced to 4. If a driver attains 9 points again, the subsequent suspension is 6 months. Drivers who have obtained a full Class G licence are suspended for 30 days on the first accumulation of 15 demerit points and are suspended for 6 months on the second accumulation of 15 points within 2 years.

Until 1994, newly licensed drivers were covered by the probationary licence system until they had successfully completed two one-year periods of suspension-free driving. Probationary drivers were suspended for 30 days after accumulating 6 or more demerit points. The probationary licensing system ended on March 31, 1994. Drivers were grandfathered into the new Graduated Licensing System.