Did You Receive a Ticket for Failing to Remain at the Scene of a Collision?

What Are the Penalties For Failing To Remain at an Accident Scene?

Generally, there are three areas of penalty if a defendant is convicted of a Highway Traffic Act offence:

• Court penalties
• Licensing penalties
• Insurance cost increase

HTA section 200(2) defines the range of penalties that can be assigned by the court if you are convicted:

(2) Every person who contravenes this section is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not less than $400 and not more than $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both, and in addition, the person’s license or permit may be suspended for a period of not more than two years. 2009, c. 5, s. 54.

It is important to note that the range of court fines described is also subject to the victim fine surcharge. The total-payable fine, in this case, would range from a minimum fine of $490.00 and a maximum fine of $2,500.00. Generally, imprisonment or court-ordered license suspensions are reserved either for defendants with a very poor driving history or for an accident involving bodily harm (or death), or other aggravating factors such as alcohol and marijuana.

If convicted at court, that record of conviction will be sent to the Ministry of Transportation (MTO). The MTO will then register a record of conviction against your driving history along with the appropriate number of demerit points (penalties range between 0 and 7 demerit points, depending upon which HTA section you have been convicted under). All subsections under HTA section 200 are the maximum seven demerit point penalty.

Insurance cost increases for many HTA offences can quickly surpass the fines issued by the court. Your insurer will look at multiple factors when doing your risk assessment and the cost to provide you with insurance. A conviction for Failing to Remain may result in you being removed from standard insurance and placed onto ‘high risk’ insurance.

*Court-ordered suspension. A conviction may result in other suspensions of your license by the MTO.

CVOR Points And Fail To Remain

Commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers, such as transport truck drivers, are in additional jeopardy if charged by the police. CMV drivers face the regular court, licensing, and insurance consequences of a conviction, but they also face CVOR points and an impact on their current and future employment. A conviction will result in an additional record of conviction and CVOR points for the driver’s employer (or the driver if they are under their own CVOR). The CVOR points for the various Sections of HTA s.200 are as follows:

A conviction for a 5-CVOR point offence may result in termination of employment and difficulty obtaining new employment.

What Happens If I’m A Novice Driver?

Novice drivers (i.e. G1, G2, M1, M2 licenses) are especially at risk of driver’s licence suspension and increases to insurance. Compared to a full driver’s license, novice drivers are subject to many limitations and restrictions. One such limitation is the triggering of escalated penalties for a conviction of any single offence that carries four or more demerit points. The severity of the penalty applied by the MTO depends on whether this is a first, second, or third occurrence:

• 30-day license suspension for the first occurrence
• 90-day license suspension for the second occurrence
• License cancellation and a requirement to re-apply for a G1/M1 after the third occurrence. Any fees paid, credit received for time spent in the program or BDE credit would be forfeited when the license is cancelled. Please note that in the case of a hybrid driver, only the novice-class license is cancelled on the third occasion; their full-class license is maintained.

What Should I Do If Charged With Failure To Remain?