Each year when school starts up again, police and school boards remind motorists to slow down and pay attention in school zones.PNG Archive Maybe you didnt know, but last year Quebecs Highway Safety Code (HSC) went under a major revision the biggest since the creation of the Société de l’Assurance Automobile du Québec (SAAQ) some 40 years ago.Among the 80 new provisions of the Code de la Sécurité routière:Imposed curfew and passenger-limit on learners; Increased penalties for using electronic devices while driving; Increased fines for not wearing a seatbelt; New rules for cyclists, who now have to stop for a school bus with flashing lights, too. Even pedestrians get some attention: Quebec municipalities can now designate a shared street, giving pedestrians full priority anywhere they want to walk while cars are limited to 20 km/h.The revised HSC didnt forget about winter tires: Mandatory in La Belle Province for the last 10 years, they will have to be installed two weeks earlier, with December 1 now the have-them-on date. (The de rigueur period still ends the 15 of March).Speeding in School ZonesOtherwise, almost all of the 80 new Quebec road rules already went into effect between April 2018 and now, with the most recent being this one: from August 1, fines are now doubled for speeding in school zones during school hours. Its very much like how the law doubles fines in construction zones when workers are present in some regions (such as Ontario), although in Quebec, as well as in British Columbia, those fines are ALWAYS doubled for those who speed through construction zones.What are the school hours in Quebec? When not indicated on an indecipherable sign, they are from 7 am to 5 pm, every day of the week, from September to June, stated the Ministre des Transports du Qubec (MTQ).We would love to tell you that in enacting this law, Quebec became the best province in Canada for ticketing speeding in school zones. In Ontario, fines are not specifically doubled in school zones; they are, though, in the community zones designated by municipalities, which could include said school zones.And while British Columbia doesnt specifically double the fines in school zones, the max penalty for speeding in those areas, as well as around playgrounds and in construction zones, are higher period. They can reach $483, plus three points on your license. If you add the legal fees always involved but specific to each province, then the consequences from demerit points or penalty zones or risk premiums or whatever you call it get pretty severe as they should be. What are the penalties?Here are some scenarios we gathered for you in case you speed in Quebec school zones now that kids are back in school and that Article 516.2 is en vigueur.However, note that the fines may double during school hours but not the demerit points and, curiously, some fines are still well below those imposed for texting while driving in Quebec ($300 to $600 and five points) or even passing a school bus with flashing lights ($200 to $300 and nine points):10 km/h over the limit: $35×2 = $70* (0 points) 15 km/h over the limit: $45×2 = $90* (1 point) 20 km/h over the limit: $55×2 = $110* (1 point) 25 km/h over the limit: $90×2 = $180* (2 points) 30 km/h over the limit: $105×2 = $210* (2 points) 35 km/h over the limit: $155×2 = $310* (3 points) Higher speed brings the offender in the Grands excès de vitesse zone, so the following fines applied are not doubled:40 km/h over the limit: $350* (6 points) 50 km/h over the limit: $480* (10 points) three times the limit: between $630 and $1,230* (up to 18 points — enough for a license suspension) And if your Excessive Speed violation is a repeat one? The fourth infraction could reach $3,000*, with so many points the speeder will be forbidden from driving for a long time.But if were looking for the harshest penalties, in Arizona, criminal speeding (i.e. exceeding 35 mph near a school crossing) will strip you of your drivers license, get you a $500 fine and will put you in jail for 30 days.*Fees not
Origin: Quebec doubles the fines for speeding in school zones
fines
No-deal Brexit would cost UK car makers billions in emission fines
A no-deal Brexit could cost the UK automotive industry at least £3 billion in CO2-related fines, Autocar has learned. The costs represent the fines that would be racked up by the 40-plus manufacturers operating in the UK and who would fall foul of the 95g/km fleet average CO2 figure, which the government has pledged to implement unilaterally if the UK goes-it-alone in October. A spokesman for the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said: “The European CO2 Directive allows manufacturers flexibility to balance their emissions performance across all relevant European markets. A no deal Brexit would, however, remove this flexibility, which may make reduction targets far harder for some manufacturers, given the UK model mix may differ from a European average. “If this meant additional fines were to be levied on UK companies, the effects could be hugely damaging, reducing consumer choice, undermining competitiveness and restricting future RD spend. This is yet more evidence of the severe consequences for the British automotive industry from a disorderly Brexit – no deal must be ruled out immediately.” Although the concept of the UK adopting the 95g/km CO2 average has been well-flagged – it was a key element in government No Deal Brexit planning documents – the impact on individual car-makers and the industry as a whole is only just starting to emerge. The significant issue is that the UK fleet average figure would be based purely on UK sales, making it less likely for sales of heavier cars with larger engines, especially the growing mix of SUVs models, to be balanced out by cheaper, lower polluting city cars and superminis. One mass-market manufacturer that Autocar spoke to has carried out an internal audit of its annual new car sales and calculated its fleet mix of petrol, diesel, hybrid and electrified models would rack up around £100m in fines. The fines could be reduced by altering the mix of powertrains in favour of more electrified models, but factory capacity for such a dramatic short-term change in output is limited, largely because CO2-planning is being organised on an EU-wide basis and production plans for 2020/2021 have already been committed. More diesels would help cut CO2 figures – but the government is actively shutting down that route by demonising diesel with threatened policy initiatives that have cut consumer demand. Across Europe, brands have been planning their CO2 fleet averages with sales of larger cars in northern Europe balanced out by smaller cars in southern Europe. The UK’s Brexit plan cuts the UK industry off from this product planning mix, exposing UK car companies to huge fines. The manufacturer that Autocar spoke to has ‘gamed’ several potential scenarios, the most severe of which would require a 20 per cent cut in sales in 2021 and a significant drop in profitability. Although that would reduce fines to a more reasonable £5m to £10m, the effect on its business would be
Origin: No-deal Brexit would cost UK car makers billions in emission fines
Ontario gas stations face fines if they don’t display premier’s carbon tax sticker
Rob Phillips, Minster of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, left; and Greg Rickford, Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines, with an example of the sticker that will be placed on the pumps for participating gas stations was unveiled during a press conference on carbon tax for home heating and gas on Monday April 8, 2019.Veronica Henri / Postmedia Buried in Ontario’s budget bill are fines of up to $10,000 per day for gas station operators who don’t display government-mandated stickers about the price of the carbon tax. The budget contains a new piece of legislation called the Federal Carbon Tax Transparency Act that would require gas stations to display the sticker on each pump. The sticker shows the federal carbon tax adding 4.4 cents per litre to the price of gas now, and rising to 11 cents a litre in 2022. The legislation lets the government send inspectors to see if gas stations are properly displaying the stickers and sets out penalties for non-compliance. Individuals could be fined up to $500 each day, or up to $1,000 a day for subsequent offences. Corporations could be fined up to $5,000 a day, or up to $10,000 a day for subsequent offences. Obstructing an inspector would carry a fine of at least $500 and up to $10,000. This is a new low, even for (Premier) Doug Ford, NDP energy critic Peter Tabuns said in a statement. It’s bad enough that he’s wasting public money on partisan promotion, but now he’s threatening private business owners with massive fines for failing to post (Progressive) Conservative party advertisement. Similar critiques came from federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, who denounced the fines as ridiculous. Not only is this a violation of freedom of speech, it will cost small business owners across the province who don’t want to take part in this government propaganda campaign, McKenna said in a statement. This should be denounced by all political parties as a new low for our political discourse. The provincial Tories are slamming the federal carbon tax at every turn, and while Ford has said he is staying out of the upcoming federal election, he directly linked the two Friday in a speech to the Ontario General Contractors Association. When you go to the ballot box think of your future, he said. Think of the country’s future. Think of your children’s future, because we cannot accept this carbon tax. Energy Minister Greg Rickford’s director of communications said the stickers are about transparency. But critics note that the stickers don’t mention carbon tax rebates. Amir Attaran, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, called the government proposal a farce and said the legislation breaches the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The government can mandate a no-smoking sticker because of public safety, but they cannot mandate a partisan political statement without destroying freedom of expression unconstitutionally. Spokespeople for Suncor Energy, which operates Petro-Canada gas stations, and Husky Energy said they would comply with the legislation. The Canadian Fuels Association, which represents gas retailers, declined to comment. The carbon tax is expected cost to a typical household $258 this year and $648 by 2022. Residents of provinces with the tax will be getting rebates on their income tax returns that start at $128 annually and increase for people with spouses or dependents at home. The federal government says a family of four in Ontario would get $307 this year. Ontario is one of four provinces, including Manitoba, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, where Ottawa imposed the levy because they opted not to impose their own pricing schemes on carbon emissions. Ontario is challenging the carbon tax in court this
Origin: Ontario gas stations face fines if they don’t display premier’s carbon tax sticker
All about car 