[ZTWsquared]

Frost__2001,Jun 12 2008, 05:25 PM Wrote:OPP will continue to impound cars, chief says
June 12, 2008
Source: Canadiandriver.ca

Orillia, Ontario – Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers are correctly interpreting Section 172 of the Highway Traffic Act and will continue to impound the vehicles and suspend the licenses of motorists caught driving more than 50 km/h over the posted speed, said OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino.

Fantino said that he was responding to remarks by some politicians and members of the media indicating that OPP officers don’t understand the street racing legislation or are not interpreting it correctly.

“OPP officers are doing a great job of apprehending the most dangerous drivers,” Fantino said. “It is our job to lay the charges; once that happens, it’s up to the judiciary system beyond the police to deal with each case individually. We believe the rest of the judicial system is as committed to saving lives as we are. Regardless of the uninformed rhetoric to the contrary, we know that our efforts are achieving very positive results.”

Fantino said that fatalities on highways the OPP patrols are down 34.4 per cent this year so far, and speed-related fatalities are down 41.9 per cent over the same period last year. So far this year, 37 of the 122 fatalities in the province were speed-related.

“It’s very disappointing to us and our front-line officers that they are being criticized for doing their jobs,” Fantino said. “It’s not the OPP’s role to determine whether the penalty is too harsh. Our role is to make Ontario’s roads even safer than they are now and to protect the citizens of Ontario and visitors to the province against aggressive drivers, those who speed or drink and drive.”
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From what I understand, the author of this article (and indeed Fantino) has missed or purposely ignored the point.

I don't have an issue with the 50 over part of this legislation ... there is very little interpretation needed by police officer to determine how fast someone is going ... their ability to do so and the tools and techniques they use are basically proven and accepted.

But I believe the concern being expressed about "interpretation" has nothing to do with speed, but rather the definitions of "race" and "stunt" which are largely at the discretion of the individual officer.

That, in and of itself isn't necessarily a bad thing ... I think we all agree that racing and stunt driving have no place on our public roads ... however, the 7-day administrative impounding of a vehicle at an individual officers discretion is a huge penalty to pay for someone who hasn't been found guilty of anything. Moreover, if subsequently found "not guilty" that person has no recourse for the recovery of the towing and impound fees that they would have paid.

Although I strongly agree with the intent of the legislation I have a problem with the power given to the individual officer at the side of the road to effectively impose a hefty penalty based on their individual interpretation of the definitions of "racing" and "stunt" driving.

I for one would like to see some statistics ... of all the vehicles impounded at the side of the road under this legislation, how many were caught going more than 50 over and how many were impounded based on an officers interpretation of the definitions.