Where a municipality wishes to control or regulated the direction that traffic moves on a roadway, the municipality can designate roads for the use of one way traffic.

In doing so the municipality must post signs in accordance with the Ontario Regulations, to which the signs must be clearly visible to traffic using the roadway.

Where a police officer issues a ticket for driving the wrong way, the officer must prove to the court that the signs indicating the direction for traffic were clearly visible to be seen.

Where a driver is charged with Drive Wrong Way – One Way Traffic the penalties are:

• 3 demerit points
• fine of $110.00
• conviction on record for 3 years

Where an accident has occurred or the offence is of a serious nature the police officer may issue a summons to appear, commanding the driver to appear in court before a justice of the peace (JP).

Where a summons to appear is issued and the driver appears in court the justice may increase the fine.

Police officers can issue a traffic ticket with either a fine or by using a summons to appear in court.

Where the fine for the offence is in excess of $500 the officer must use a summons to appear.

The police officer may issue the summons to appear where they believe the incident is of a serious nature requiring an appearance before the court, or where the officer is requesting a higher penalty than the out of court fine.

If a police officer issues a summons to appear, the driver or their legal representative must appear before the Justice on the date specified by the officer.

Where they do not appear, a bench summons can be issued by the Justice requiring the police to arrest the driver and bring them before the court.

The provincial government adds a victim fine surcharge (VFS) to every non-parking fine imposed under the Provincial Offences Act.

The money is deposited into a special fund to help victims of crime, to which:

• The amount of the VFS is usually 20 per cent of the imposed fine.
  • For example, a $100 fine would result in a $20 surcharge.
  • Fines over $1,000 carry a surcharge of 25 per cent.

Traffic tickets for driving the wrong way will affect insurance rates for drivers.

A insurance company may consider the traffic ticket a “hazardous conviction” as there was a risk that the driver could of been involved in a traffic accident.

Once the driver is convicted of driving the wrong way on a roadway, the court sends a notice to the Ministry of Transportation. Upon receiving the record of conviction from the court the Ministry of Transportation then adds the conviction to the driving record.

Driving abstracts are available to anyone who has the drivers licence number for a fee payable to the Ministry of Transportation.

The way the insurance company finds out about the ticket is:

• The insurance company contacts,
  • the Ministry of Transportation and
    • checks the drivers abstract, or
• the driver calls and,
  • tells the insurance company that they received a ticket

Each insurance company is a private company with their own set of rules and standards.

Some insurance companies will not increase insurance rates for one ticket and others will.

The problem is drivers don’t know what the insurance company is going to do, and if asked, there is a chance they will increase it due to the inquiry.

The Ministry of Transportation keeps driving record for all Ontario drivers.

Driving abstracts are available to anyone who has the drivers licence number for a fee payable to the Ministry of Transportation.

Insurance companies and the public can have access to the last 3 years of the driving record.  The police and authorised agencies can obtain the complete driving record.

Therefore the way the insurance company will finds out about the ticket is;

• The insurance company contacts
  • the Ministry of Transportation and
  • checks the drivers abstract, or
• the driver calls and
  • tells the insurance company that they received a ticket

Each insurance company is a private company with their own set of rules and standards.

Drivers are not suspended for driving the wrong way on a roadway.

The only way a driver maybe suspended is where:

• the driver accumulates demerit points past their threshold of demerits, or
• the fine goes into default

Highway designated for one-way traffic

153 (1) Where a highway has been designated for the use of one-way traffic only and official signs have been erected accordingly, vehicles and street cars shall be driven only in the direction so designated.

Exception — bicycle lanes

(2) A lane on a highway designated for the use of one-way traffic only may be designated for the use of bicycle traffic in the opposite direction and, despite subsection (1), where such a designation is made, a person riding or operating a bicycle in that lane shall travel only in the direction designated for that lane.

Same

(3) The designation of a lane for bicycle traffic is not effective until official signs have been erected and the lane has been marked accordingly.

No applicable case law for this section at this time.