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Demerit points remain 2 years from date of offence
FILE PHOTO BY VINCE TALOTTA/TORONTO STAR
You can feel the demerit points mounting at this Toronto police stop.
Q: How long do demerit points stay on your driving record? Does this term begin from the offence date or the conviction date?
A: Ontario transportation ministry spokesperson Bob Nichols replies:
Demerit points are recorded by the ministry after a conviction, but stay on your driving record two years from the offence date – not the conviction date.
Eric Lai adds:
If an appeal of a conviction is launched, demerit points are not added until after a decision is rendered, since the original conviction may be overturned.
Q: How long after a traffic conviction will demerit points continue to affect my insurance?
A: Don Stewart of the Insurance Bureau of Canada replies:
Demerit points have nothing to do with your rating. Insurers charge based on whether the conviction is minor, serious or major. Convictions stay on your insurance record for three years from the date of conviction. If you are successful in having a conviction overturned in appeals court, it does not enter into the insurance rating system.
Eric Lai adds:
If your licence is suspended for any reason, including too many demerit points, this will, of course, affect your insurance rating.
Q: Can you please clarify the rules for window tint on vehicles? Is there a legislated limit on how dark front windows can be (e.g. 70 per cent light transmittance)?
A: Basically, the rear side and back windows can be as dark as you want, but front side windows fall under S. 73(3) of the Highway Traffic Act: "Colour coating obscuring interior."
Ontario transportation ministry spokesperson Bob Nichols replies:
The federal Motor Vehicle Safety Act governs window tinting in the manufacturing of new vehicles. It requires that the windshield and all windows on cars have a minimum 70 per cent light transmittance (i.e. light tinting permitted).
On vans, SUVs and trucks, the windshield and front side windows must have a minimum 70 per cent light transmittance; rear window light transmittance is unregulated. Aftermarket window tint products are regulated by each province.
In Ontario, neither the Highway Traffic Act nor any regulation under it specifies a minimum or maximum allowable level of tinting for the front windshield or front side windows of motor vehicles. However, S. 73(2,3) HTA prohibits tinting to a level where the driver's view is obstructed, or the view to the interior of the vehicle is obscured from outside.
Sgt. Tim Burrows of Toronto Police Traffic Services adds:
Section 73(2,3) HTA is truly a point of officer discretion as to the interpretation of what constitutes a violation. The consideration from a legal standpoint is that the tint "substantially obscures the interior."
A general rule-of-thumb applied by many officers comes down to officer safety and public recognition. The measure that I use is whether or not I can quickly determine with certainty, the gender, complexion and features of the occupants when looking through the front windows.
More important, officers making a traffic stop need to be able to instantly determine if a vehicle's occupants are holding any object – or weapon – in their hands.
Email your non-mechanical questions to Eric Lai at
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