Driving without insurance can be costly

automobile insurance

Welcome to the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act.

The Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act (CAIA) is a separate set of regulations from the Highway Traffic Act that is designed to regulate and enforce insurance requirements.

To begin, the CAIA states:

2 (1) Compulsory automobile insurance
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

This states the obvious. A driver must have insurance in order to drive a vehicle. If a driver operates a vehicle, or allows someone else to operate the vehicle while it doesn’t have valid insurance, it’s a pretty steep fine. The first offence carries a minimum fine of $5000. The second time it’s a minimum of $10,000. An offender’s licence can also be suspended for up to a year.

A driver must also always carry a valid insurance card in the vehicle. If pulled over and the driver does not have a valid insurance card, it is a set fine of $65.00.

If a driver surrenders a false or invalid insurance card. The fine and charge can be the same as fail to have insurance:

2(3) Compulsory automobile insurance offence
Every owner or lessee of a motor vehicle who,
(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

However, if a driver knowingly surrenders a false or invalid insurance card, or tells an officer that he/she has insurance when that is not the case, then the charge can be much more severe.

Fighting Traffic Tickets Ontario

13 (11) Offence for false statement
No person shall, in certifying under paragraph 1 of subsection (8) that a motor vehicle is insured under a contract of automobile insurance, make a statement that he or she knows or ought to know is false.  

13.1 (1) Possession, use, sale, etc., of false or invalid insurance card
No person shall,
(a) have a false or invalid insurance card in his or her possession that he or she knows or ought to know is false or invalid;
(b) use a false or invalid insurance card that he or she knows or ought to know is false or invalid;
(c) sell, give, deliver or distribute a false or invalid insurance card that he or she knows or ought to know is false or invalid; or
(d) produce for inspection any other evidence, that he or she knows or ought to know is false or invalid, that the motor vehicle is insured under a contract of automobile insurance.

13.1 (2) Offence for Possession, use, sale, etc., of false or invalid insurance card
A person who contravenes this section is guilty of an offence and is liable on a first conviction to a fine of not less than $10,000 and not more than $50,000 and on a subsequent conviction to a fine of not less than $20,000 and not more than $100,000.

When it comes to insurance charges, the best way to fight this ticket is to prove that the driver does in fact, have insurance. This is the responsibility of the driver to prove to the court. The responsibility falls on the driver to prove to the court that he/she does in fact have valid insurance.

Every situation is different. Remember you have the right to fight your ticket. At Bulwark Legal Services we provide free consultations. You can go to our website and send us a copy of your ticket. We will help you decide the right course of action to take.