The Villager

A: To address the call for harsher penalties, the province proclaimed Bill 203 into law on June 7. Included in this lengthy new piece of legislation was an amendment to Section 172 of the Highway Traffic Act designed to increase the penalties associated with street racing.

A motorist now caught street racing can expect a minimum fine of $2,000 on the first offence and presiding justice has been given leeway to increase that fine to a maximum of $10,000 should the circumstances dictate.

In addition to the increase in fines, justices can also order a driver's licence suspended for up to two years on that first conviction and for up to 10 years on any subsequent conviction.

Stiff penalties yes, however, the accused driver must first be tried and found guilty before any fine or suspension can be levied and that process can take months, perhaps years to complete.

In order to have an immediate impact, police officers have been given the authority under Bill 203 to administer an instant driving suspension of seven days to anyone being charged with a street-racing offence and they have also been given the authority to impound the offending vehicle for that same period of time.

With the legislators making a strong move to deter racing, what have the police been doing over the years?

Back in 2002, I was part of a group of senior traffic police officers selected from within GTA police services to form a 'multi-police agency' anti-street racing enforcement team with a mandate to respond to the increasing number of road tragedies within the GTA.

Together with senior police officials from York, Peel and Halton Regions as well as the OPP and both the Ministry of Transportation and the Environment, we created Project E-RASE. The acronym stood for Eliminate Racing Activity on Streets Everywhere and needless to say, the project was an overwhelming success in its inaugural year.

Over a three-month period in the summer of 2002, thousands of 'exceptionally modified' vehicles were stopped by patrolling officers with hundreds of drivers being charged with a variety of serious driving infractions, which included dangerous driving, careless driving, racing, driving at high speeds as well as an assortment of mechanical, safety and environmental violations.

Project E-RASE became an annual road safety blitz expanding each year to include additional policing jurisdictions and in 2007, a total of 12 police services participated in the E-RASE program within the GTA and surrounding municipalities.

We must be mindful though, that police cannot battle this serious problem alone.

Combating street racing relies on strong partnerships between the police and the local communities we serve. Citizens can help in the fight against street racing by dialling 911 whenever they see a race or other dangerous driving activity.

If possible, record a licence plate number from one of the cars and report that information to the 911 dispatcher or later on to CrimeStoppers at 416-222-TIPS or 1-800-222-TIPS.