A Piece of Paper for your car in Ontario...

[GuaiLo]

I was pulled over (again) by the OPP on the 404 this evening. This is the 3rd time I have been pulled over for some misunderstanding or interpretation of the Highway Traffic Act.

This time, I was a little argumentative (since this has happened before), which cost me about 2 hours on the side of the road trying to talk the officer out of a ticket for 110.00. He eventually let me off after I found the applicable sections in the copy of the HTA in the cruiser.

I have a clean abstract, but I have been pulled over previously for either:
(A) Improper (Failure) of Daytime Running Lights
(B) No "Right Hand Drive" Sticker.

So here's a little piece of the HTA that you can print and keep in the glove box to "educate" the misinformed:

------------------------------------------------------------
Vehicles with right hand drive
63. Every vehicle that is equipped with a right hand drive shall, unless it is equipped with a mechanical or electrical signal device as described in subsection 142 (6), have prominently displayed on the rear thereof, in bold face letters of not less than 50 millimetres in height and of a colour which is in contrast to that of the vehicle, the words, “RIGHT HAND DRIVE VEHICLE”.
------------------------------------------------------------

Now, I sincerely hope you do not speak to the nice officer in the same manner in which explained the subsequent sections below (...I was a little testy):

For Daytime Running Lamps there is no Ontario Provincial Law or provision in the HTA.

There is Federal Law, specifically:
Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations [Lighting System and Retroreflective Devices (Standard 108)]

AND

VEHICLE AND EQUIPMENT STANDARDS [Imported vehicles]
7(4) A vehicle that is imported into Canada must conform to the standard prescribed for the class of equivalent non-imported vehicle, or made to conform to this standard prior to the presentation for registration under the laws of a province.

I do drive a 1989 GTS-4...manufactured in October. The statute for DRLs only applies to vehicles manufactured after December 1, 1989. If I so choose to install DRLs, only then must I "...comply with the standards approved for such lights by the Canadian Standards Association". I'm not about to install DRLs, ...but I do turn my headlamps on for safety.

Also, I do not have to have any 2" ugly lettering on the back of my vehicle which says "RIGHT HAND DRIVE VEHICLE", as this car is "...equipped with a mechanical or electrical signal device". You can validate this, visually, blinking ahead of you. You will note this is likely a mechanical or electrical process, as there is nobody sitting in the car, hand signaling in any fashion.

Further, I would like to point out that the MTO does not make any such "sticker", it would have to be a custom paint job, vinyl lettering or something else, which I am not willing to pay for, for the purpose of satisfying your ego or desecrating my nice paint job.

I might opt to get a custom license plate with the caption "HTA 63", as a gentle reminder for the future.

...by the way, on your cruiser, one headlamp is out.


For anyone requiring legal resources in Canada, this site is absolutely the best:
http://www.canlii.org/en/

CanLII is a non-profit organization managed by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. CanLII's goal is to make Canadian law accessible for free on the Internet.

Here, you can search Federal and Provincial laws, along with court rulings and tribunals

[raijin-xiii]

nice find.
I've seen a person or two on here with RIGHT HAND DRIVE VEHICLE tattooed to the back of their skyline.. I guess they can remove it huh?