Question: My daughter was stopped by the police last night for speeding on the 401. The officer charged her with “Race a Motor Vehicle.” She may have been speeding, but she absolutely wasn’t racing with any other vehicles on the highway. How can the police charge her with something she wasn’t doing? Now our family car has been impounded and our daughter’s licence has been suspended. Is the officer out of line with this charge? Can we fight the charge?
Answer: You can be charged with Stunt/Race for doing any number of things. One of which would be speeding 50 kilometres or more above the speed limit. You do not have to be actually racing someone to receive this charge. The Officer is simply doing his job, and in no way is acting out of line.
With this said your daughter is facing a very serious charge and I strongly suggest seeking assistance with this. This charge carries hefty penalties such as a possible further licence suspension of up to two years and a fine amount that can range anywhere from $2500 to $12500. She is also facing insurance issues as many insurance companies view this charge as being next to criminal and will not insure someone convicted of it. This will affect her for the next three years until it no longer shows on the driver’s abstract pulled by the insurance company. The towing and impounding charges that she is facing will likely be in the $500 to $1500 range.
There is hope however. There are many different things that can be done to try and reduce or eliminate this charge completely. Given the serious penalties that are involved with this charge, I would suggest using an Agent as they are going to have the knowledge and experience to know best which avenue to take in protecting her interests.