Traffic Court Specialists

No Insurance

Is there a defense against “Driving Without Insurance” ?

Regardless of whether you have automobile insurance (or not), there can be several defences to the charge of “Driving Without Insurance”. The Crown Prosecutor has the onus of establishing certain elements to the offence of “Driving Without Insurance”.

Should you be charged with the following offences under the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act, contact us immediately

Owner Operate Motor Vehicle on Highway without Insurance - Section 2(1)(a)
Owner Cause and Permit Motor Vehicle to be operated on Highway without Insurance - Section 2(1)(b)
Surrendering Invalid Insurance Documents for Inspection to a Police Officer - Section 2 (3)(b)
Possession, Use, Sale etc. of False or Invalid Insurance Card - Section 13.1(1)

In fact, Traffic Court Specialists have an excellent record in dealing with these cases. One of our specialists is a former worker in the office of the Attorney General of Ontario and has in-depth knowledge of legislation regulating Insurance of Motor Vehicles and Automobile Insurance Policies..

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Extract from the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER C.25

Compulsory automobile insurance
2.  (1)   Subject to the regulations, no owner or lessee of a motor vehicle shall,
         (a)    operate the motor vehicle; or
         (b)    cause or permit the motor vehicle to be operated,
on a highway unless the motor vehicle is insured under a contract of automobile insurance.  1994, c. 11, s. 383; 1996, c. 21, s. 50 (3).
Definition
      (2)   For the purposes of subsection (1), where a permit for a motor vehicle has been issued under subsection 7 (7) of the Highway Traffic Act,
“contract of automobile insurance”, with respect to that motor vehicle, means a contract of automobile insurance made with an insurer.  R.S.O. 1990, c. C.25, s. 2 (2).
Offence
      (3)   Every owner or lessee of a motor vehicle who,
         (a)    contravenes subsection (1) of this section or subsection 13 (2); or
Note: On a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor, clause (a) is amended by the Statutes of Ontario, 2002, chapter 22, section 33 by striking out “subsection 13 (2)” and substituting “subsection 13 (11)”.  See: 2002, c. 22, ss. 33, 36 (2).
         (b)    surrenders an insurance card for inspection to a police officer, when requested to do so, purporting to show that the motor vehicle is insured under a contract of automobile insurance when the motor vehicle is not so insured,
is guilty of an offence and is liable on a first conviction to a fine of not less than $5,000 and not more than $25,000 and on a subsequent conviction to a fine of not less than $10,000 and not more than $50,000 and, in addition, his or her driver’s licence may be suspended for a period of not more than one year.  R.S.O. 1990, c. C.25, s. 2 (3); 1996, c. 21, s. 50 (4).
Justice to secure possession of driver’s licence
      (4)   Where a justice makes a conviction under subsection (3) and the driver’s licence of the person convicted is suspended by the justice, the justice shall take the driver’s licence and forward it to the Registrar.  R.S.O. 1990, c. C.25, s. 2 (4).
Police officer may secure possession
      (5)   Where a driver’s licence is suspended under this section and the person to whom the suspension applies refuses or fails to surrender his or her licence to the justice forthwith, any police officer may, and upon the direction of the Registrar shall, take possession of the licence and forward it to the Registrar.  R.S.O. 1990, c. C.25, s. 2 (5).
Offence
      (6)   Every person who fails or refuses to surrender his or her driver’s licence when required by a police officer under subsection (5) is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $200.  R.S.O. 1990, c. C.25, s. 2 (6); 1996, c. 21, s. 50 (5).
Impounding motor vehicle
      (7)   In the event of a conviction under subsection (3), the justice may order that the motor vehicle,
         (a)    that was operated in contravention of subsection (1);
         (b)    for which a false statement in respect of insurance was made in contravention of subsection 13 (2); or
Note: On a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor, clause (b) is amended by the Statutes of Ontario, 2002, chapter 22, section 33 by striking out “subsection 13 (2)” and substituting “subsection 13 (11)”.  See: 2002, c. 22, ss. 33, 36 (2).
         (c)    for which an insurance card was produced in contravention of clause (3) (b),
shall be seized, impounded and taken into the custody of the law for a period of not more than three months.  R.S.O. 1990, c. C.25, s. 2 (7).
Cost of storage
      (8)   All costs and charges for the care and storage of the motor vehicle are a lien upon the motor vehicle that may be enforced in the manner provided by the Repair and Storage Liens Act.  R.S.O. 1990, c. C.25, s. 2 (8).
Release of vehicle on security given by person convicted
      (9)   If the person convicted under subsection (3) gives security to the satisfaction of the convicting justice, by bond, recognizance or otherwise, that the motor vehicle will not be operated upon a highway during the period specified by the justice in making an order under subsection (7), the motor vehicle may be released to the person convicted, and if the motor vehicle is operated upon a highway during such period it shall be deemed to have been operated without a permit, as defined in subsection 6 (1) of the Highway Traffic Act.  R.S.O. 1990, c. C.25, s. 2 (9); 1996, c. 21, s. 50 (6).
Three-year limitation period
      (10)   Proceedings may be commenced at any time within three years after the date on which an offence was, or is alleged to have been, committed under subsection (1) or clause (3) (b) or subsection 13 (2).  R.S.O. 1990, c. C.25, s. 2 (10).