Ontario witholding license plates from drivers with unpaid driving-based tickets

January 16th, 2017  |  Auto

Ontario is finally getting tough on those who commit a driving-based offence and haven't paid their ticket. It was just announced that beginning in May, people who have yet to square up will be unable to renew their license plates.

This new regulation brings driving-based offences up to speed with vehicular offences such as parking tickets, which are already subject to the license non-renewal penalty. Enacting it was one of the broad goals of 2015's Making Ontario's Roads Safer Act. There were several priorities to that extensive proposed legislation, one of the last of which was the "Expansion of license plate denial for drivers who do not pay Provincial Offences Act fine for offences such as speeding, improper lane changes, illegal turns, driving without insurance and careless driving." That it will come into effect in May puts it right on schedule for the Spring 2017 target the Ministry of Transportation initially had in mind for it.

Outstanding fines collectively add up to an enormous portion of revenue that could be in the government's hands. Even though many of the individual tickets it will soon have the authority to theoretically cover date back 50 years, the policy will only be retroactive seven years from the present once it becomes active.

Receiving increased insurance premiums is already one harsh penalty that drivers tend to face after committing driving-based offences. Now, their ability to evade consequences for their actions just got diminished even further.