The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have laid 12,000 stunt driving charges, most cases relating to speeding and not other illegal activities such as street racing or "wheelies" by motorcyclists.  OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino credits the law with a 30 percent decrease since 2007 in fatalities on roads patrolled by the OPP.

 

In the fall of 2009, however, two lower court judges ruled the offence was unconstitutional, violating Charter Rights by potentially sending an accused to jail for an offence— speeding—that, despite what the legislature may have intended, essentially allowed no defence.  The problem was said to be that in Canada, no one should get a jail sentence in circumstances where no explanation is allowed. As a result, the conviction of Jane Raham, a 62-year-old grandmother driving 131 kph passing a tractor-trailer in an 80 kph zone was overturned.

 

The Government appealed the Raham case, arguing that there is a defence to the stunt driving charge because the accused driver can provide an explanation, if one is available, to show that reasonable steps were taken “to speed by less than 50 kph”.  This means that, depending on the circumstances, the accused may argue, for example, that the cruise control malfunctioned or that the accelerator pedal was stuck or that the driver was attempting to pass a truck and resume the legal speed.

 

Media reports of the Government’s appeal, which was held in late January 2010, described the three-judge panel of the Ontario Court of Appeal as peppering “the Government side with questions” and appearing “skeptical of its position.”  The Court reportedly asked why a law designed to deal with street racing wasn’t being used for this purpose.  It also questioned distinguishing between speeding and “really bad speeding.”  One of the judges said it was “disingenuous” to say the law was justified for public safety concerns.  “There is still a potential danger in any speeding.”

 

But, two months later, despite the apparent scepticism shown at the hearing, the Appeal Court issued a written ruling upholding the stunt driving law and ordering a new trial for Ms. Raham.  The court recognized a distinction between ‘speeding’ and ‘aggravated speeding’ saying there “was nothing illogical” with treating “simple speeding” and “aggravated speeding”" differently.  The court accepted the Government arguments that speeding involves a “wide variety” of circumstances, some of which are “significantly more dangerous” to the public.  The Court also said that an acquittal on stunt driving charges would still likely result in a conviction for speeding.

 

OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino was quoted as saying, "We are gratified.  The legislation has formed an important part of our traffic safety strategy."