How Many Demerit Points Do You Start With?

One common question that we frequently encounter from our clients is, “How many demerit points do you start with?” It’s crucial to understand the basics of the demerit point system in Ontario.

The Demerit Point System

• In Ontario, you don’t start with any demerit points on your driving record, regardless of your driver classification (G1 driver, G driver, G2 driver, AZ driver, etc.).

Impact on Different License Classes

• The impact of a charge or ticket varies depending on your license classification in Ontario.
• Let’s focus on the full G license for now, which allows drivers to accumulate up to 15 points.
• Accumulating 15 points would lead to a suspension of your driver’s license.
• In the case of a regular G license, accumulating nine points triggers an interview with the Ministry of Transportation. The outcome of the interview depends on the nature and severity of the offenses.
• If you’ve accumulated points for minor infractions with no accidents or injuries involved, it may mitigate the Ministry’s decision regarding your license suspension.

Interview Process

• If you are facing an interview with the Ministry of Transportation due to point accumulation, it’s advisable to seek legal guidance. Contact us for assistance during this process.

Graduated Licensing

• It’s important to note that younger or new drivers with G1 or G2 licenses have different rules regarding point accumulation.
• For example, a G2 driver accumulates four demerit points for a single event like speeding more than 30 km/h over the limit, leading to a 30-day license suspension.
• Accumulating six or more points with a G2 license also results in a 30-day suspension.
• These suspensions will be reflected on your driving abstract and can impact your future insurance rates.

Conclusion

• The number of demerit points you start with is zero, regardless of your driver classification in Ontario.
• Depending on your license type, the consequences of point accumulation vary.
• Seek professional guidance if you’re facing an interview with the Ministry of Transportation or need assistance with demerit point-related issues.

For more information on demerit points and how to navigate the system, contact us for a free consultation.

Additional Resources

• To learn more about the demerit point system in Ontario, you can visit the official website of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.
• For information on traffic laws and regulations in Ontario, refer to the Ontario Traffic Council.
• Overview of Ontario Demerit Points
• How Do Demerit Points Work in Ontario?
• Novice Drivers and Demerit Points

 

Video Transcription:

I’m here to try to answer for some of my clients,  a question that I am often presented with. I talked to my staff and they all often get this question as well. And the question is a very simple one. How many demerit points do you start with? We all know that there’s a demerit point system, but we have to understand what that is.

The way the demerit point system actually works in Ontario is you don’t start with any demerit points. So it’s important to keep that in mind. Any novice driver, any G driver, G2 driver, AZ driver. Any classification of driver is assumed to have a very clean record without demerit points.

The problems occur as you get a charge or ticket and you’re convicted and the demerit points fall onto your record. Now because there’s a varying degree of licenses in Ontario including graduated licensing, the impact of a ticket on a graduated license is going to be very different than one on a full G license.

So we’ll just sort of stick with that for now to answer that question fully. A full G driver in Ontario can accumulate as much as 15 points. That’s a significant number. And at 15 points, if you were to quickly accumulate that there, there is no doubt that they would suspend your driver’s license and there’s no doubt but at some point along the road, you would’ve contacted OTD legal for some help. On a regular G license, which G means general license. If you accumulate nine points on your license you will be brought in for an interview. You’ll be interviewed by the Ministry of Transportation and they’re gonna decide based on the egregiousness or the difficulty or the type of offenses that you accumulate the points on.

For example, if you accumulated points in a minor fashion, meaning that there is no particular complication to it. Meaning there was no accident, no one was hurt. Well, that would mitigate or help neutralize the position of the ministry on whether or not they’re going to suspend your license at that interview.

If you’re facing an interview, I would suggest you call us and we’ll try to guide you through something like that. One other thing that I’m trying to capture the full spectrum of clients that may call in is we have younger drivers or new drivers that would be carrying a G1 or a G2 driver’s license, and it’s important to note that you don’t have the same discretion that you would under a full G license. 

What I mean by that is you don’t have the ability to accumulate a lot of tickets with a lot of points. By way of example, if you have a G2 driver’s license, and for any one event, let’s say speeding, you accumulate four demerit points. So that’s, for example, a speeding ticket that’s at least 30 over the limit, it would have four demerit points. If you held a G2 at that time, the four demerit points would trigger a license suspension of 30 days. Problem there being is the obvious 30 days that you cannot drive, that blemish would also appear on your driving abstract. 

By the same token, if you had a G2 license and you accumulated two points and three points and then another two points, well, as soon as you hit an accumulation of points of six or more; same thing would happen. You would lose your driver’s license for 30 days. Again, as I’ve said, it would arrive on your driving abstract and be a significant problem for you in the future as you try to get insurance.