Speeding Sudbury motorist charged with stunt, impaired driving

Efforts to reduce impaired driving in the northeast seem to be working in some communities – provincial police say stats are still high.

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) arrested and charged a Sudbury motorist for both stunt driving and impaired driving earlier this month.

On Feb. 1 at about 1:55 p.m., officers stopped a vehicle at excessive speed in a posted 70 km/h zone on Maley Drive in Greater Sudbury.

“The driver was arrested for impaired driving and was transported to the OPP (Nipissing West) detachment for further testing,” said police in a news release.

As a result of the stop and subsequent investigation, a 30-year-old local man was charged with impaired (drugs) operation of a vehicle and stunt driving.

In addition to the charges, the accused also received an immediate 90-day administrative driver’s licence suspension and the vehicle involved was impounded for 14 days at the owner’s expense.

The accused was released and is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 19.

OPP cruiser driving - winter An Ontario Provincial Police cruiser is shown driving down a highway in the winter. (File Photo/Ontario Provincial Police/Facebook)

What is stunt driving?

The offence of stunt driving was first introduced in Ontario in 2007 – it is not simply speeding. Several high-risk actions fall under the stunt driving section of the Highway Traffic Act, including:

• All tires not being in contact with the highway,
• causing tires to lose traction,
• spinning a vehicle without control,
• driving with a person in the trunk,
• driver operating the vehicle while not in the driver’s seat,
• preventing another vehicle from passing,
• driving in an oncoming traffic portion of a highway,
• stopping or slowing to interfere with another vehicle,
• driving too close to another vehicle, pedestrian or object and
• turning left from a red light before oncoming traffic.

Exceeding the posted speed limit by 50 or more km/h on roads with a speed limit of 80 km/h or higher or by 40 or more km/h on roads with a speed limit of less than 80 km/h or exceeding 150 km/h on any roadway are all also consider stunt driving.

Court-imposed penalties for stunt driving may include a fine of up to $10,000, a driver’s licence suspension of up to three years and/or up to six months in jail. In Ontario, drivers face a minimum first-time fine for stunt driving of $2,000 upon conviction.

Report impaired drivers Ontario Provincial Police are urging the public to report suspected impaired drivers. (File photo/Supplied/Ontario Provincial Police)

OPP reminded the public to “make the call,” and dial 911 if they see a possible impaired driver on our roadways, waterways, or trails.

“Impaired driving never ends well,” said police.

“Please plan a way to get home safely.”