Ontario Road Safety Annual Report 2004

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, 2004

7A. Conviction Data

Table 7.1: Summary of Motor Vehicle Related Convictions, 2004 Convictions* Number Highway Traffic Act 1,130,793 Regulations under the HTA 12,103 Criminal Code of Canada** 17,351 Municipal By-Law*** 2 Motor Vehicle Collision Claim/Compulsory Insurance Act 70,675 Motorized Snow Vehicles Act 1,882 Off-Road Vehicles Act 1,536 Out of Province Exchange (HTA) 21,287 Others**** 350 Total 1,255,979

* Includes manually recorded convictions. ** This figure does not include 500 convictions for young offenders under the Criminal Code. *** In previous years a large portion of convictions under HTA 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, 2004 Convictions Number Equipment 22,048 Administrative* 146,283 Seat Belt (Driver & Passenger)** 55,758 Other Non-Pointable Convictions *** 29,137 Speeding 717,519 Other Pointable Convictions (2-4 pts) 141,489 Other Pointable Convictions (5-7 pts) 8,677 Driving While Suspended 9,882 Total 1,130,793 * 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, 2004 * Convictions Number Alcohol Related** 13,404 Criminal Negligence 19 Fail to Remain at Collision 547 Fail to Stop for Police Officer 450 Driving While Disqualified 1,797 Dangerous Driving 1,134 Motor Manslaughter 0 Total 17,351 * Does not include 500 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	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Criminal Negligence	0	30	21	27	26	12
Fail to Remain	608	654	622	606	534	296
Dangerous Driving	1,060	1,067	1,147	1,068	1017	589
Impaired Driving	9,102	9,237	8,817	8,066	6798	3,968
Blood/Alcohol over .08	7,149	7,110	7,100	6,281	5205	3,252
Fail to Provide Breath Sample	1,361	1,305	1,353	1,194	1028	511
Driving While Disqualified	2,035	1,995	1,801	1,745	1695	1,144
Motor Manslaughter	0	0	0	0	0	2
Undefined	0	0	210	409	445	298
Total	21,315	21,398	21,071	19,396	16,748	10,072

* The same driver can be represented in this table more than once.

As of March 31, 2005, there were 10,072 Criminal Code offences recorded for 2004. The 2004 breakdown will be updated in the 2005 annual report to accommodate the lag time in the recording of offences (offences are only recorded upon conviction).

Table 7.5: Adminstrative Driver Licence Suspension (ADLS) Monthly Suspensions Issued, 1998-2004 *

Month	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
January	1,337	1,352	1,550	1,500	1,416	1,349	1,203
February	1,471	1,567	1,487	1,450	1,452	1,391	1,501
March	1,608	1,664	1,662	1,874	1,683	1,566	1,400
April	1,681	1,592	1,799	1,816	1,574	1,412	1,494
May	1,801	1,763	1,634	1,752	1,756	1,578	1,528
June	1,665	1,531	1,646	1,768	1,811	1,608	1,391
July	1,665	1,720	1,854	1,795	1,712	1,589	1,483
August	1,750	1,660	1,808	1,699	1,675	1,639	1,476
September	1,609	1,570	1,699	1,837	1,720	1,498	1,385
October	1,663	1,839	1,724	1,691	1,671	1,568	1,555
November	1,617	1,686	1,624	1,790	1,668	1,591	1,377
December	1,810	1,760	1,879	1,986	1,792	1,578	1,468
Total	19,677	19,704	20,366	20,958	19,930	18,367	17,261

* 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, 2004

Driver Age	Probationary	Novice First Accumulation	Novice Second Accumulation	Regular First Accumulation	Regular Second Accumulation
16	0	1	0	0	0
17	0	34	0	0	0
18	0	212	2	0	0
19	0	468	24	29	0
20-24	0	1,392	188	403	25
25-34	0	571	70	609	55
35-44	0	160	19	342	26
45-54	0	77	10	155	12
55-64	0	13	1	62	6
65-74	0	5	0	12	2
75 +	0	3	1	4	0
Total	0	2,936	315	1,616	126

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.