Nextlaw - Ontario's Stunt Driving, DUI & U.S. Waiver Law Firm

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Showing posts from August, 2026

Written by Jon Cohen, Partner at NextLaw, a speeding ticket law firm based in Toronto representing drivers in every court in Ontario. Licensed by the Law Society of Ontario. Published August 28, 2026 · Last updated August 28, 2026 · Ontario, Canada. Current as of August 2026; traffic law and penalties can change. How bad are 3 demerit points in Ontario? The short answer For a fully licensed Ontario driver, 3 demerit points are close to harmless on their own. It takes 15 points to lose your licence, and you don't even get a warning letter until 6. So a single 3-point ticket doesn't put your licence anywhere near the edge. Here is the part almost nobody explains: the points are not what costs you money. Insurers don't price your premium on your demerit points. They price the conviction behind the ticket, sorted as minor, major, or serious. And that conviction could raise your rates for up to three years, long after the points are gone. "How many points" is the wrong...

Is it worth fighting a speeding ticket in Ontario? For most people, yes — and more than it was a few years ago. According to NextLaw Analysis of Ontario Court of Justice data, Ontario's courts now withdraw about four and a half times more speeding charges than they did before the pandemic — climbing from roughly 2 in 100 to about 1 in 9 — and a growing share of tickets are being pushed all the way to a trial date. That is a rate across every charge the courts processed, not a prediction for your specific ticket, but the direction is real. Here is the part that matters most: you don't get a speeding charge withdrawn or dismissed by paying it, and rarely by winning a dramatic courtroom argument. You get there by responding within 15 days, asking for a trial instead of paying the fine, requesting the prosecution's evidence, and using the gaps in it to negotiate a withdrawal or a reduction. And the reason to bother isn't the fine — the fine is the small part. A conviction i...

By Jon Cohen, Partner at NextLaw — Ontario's stunt driving defence firm Yes — for a stunt driving charge in Ontario you should have a lawyer, and the worry that a busy firm won't give your case personal attention doesn't match how these cases actually work. A stunt driving charge under section 172 of the Highway Traffic Act is resolved in a private, one-on-one conversation with the prosecutor about your file, and only your file. Cases are never bundled together in that discussion — so whether a firm is handling one file or a thousand, in that room it is only your case, with its complete attention. Individual attention isn't a favour a firm does you; on a stunt driving charge, it's built into how the case is resolved. If you or your son or daughter has been charged, the fear is real and immediate: a licence suspended on the spot, a car towed away, and penalties that read like a criminal sentence. It's natural to look at a firm that handles a high volume of these ...

No. Raising the highway speed limit to 110 km/h does not give drivers more room before a stunt driving charge. Under section 172 of Ontario's Highway Traffic Act, driving 150 km/h or more is stunt driving anywhere in the province, no matter the posted limit — so on a road posted at 110, you can be charged with stunt driving at just 40 km/h over. The other trigger, 50 km/h or more over the limit, still applies too (that's 160 on a 110 highway) — but the absolute 150 km/h line hits first. And a stunt charge lands on your licence and your vehicle at the roadside, before you ever see a courtroom. Ontario is now expanding 110 km/h limits permanently across a growing list of provincial highways through 2026 — including stretches of Highways 401, 400, 402, 403, 404, 416, 417 and the QEW. More 110 km/h roads means more drivers exposed to a threshold most people misunderstand. Here's exactly how it works. What speed is stunt driving on a 110 km/h highway in Ontario? Ontario has thre...

Written by Jon Cohen, Partner at NextLaw · Licensed by the Law Society of Ontario · Published August 19, 2026 · Last updated August 19, 2026 Ontario, Canada. Current as of August 2026. General information about how speeding convictions and car insurance work in Ontario — not legal advice for your specific ticket. The short answer Insurers price from the conviction, not the ticket or your demerit points, and it could last about three years (up to six if serious). Source: NextLaw Analysis of Ontario insurance-rating practice. In Ontario, a speeding ticket affects your car insurance only if it becomes a conviction — and it is the conviction, not the ticket or your demerit points, that insurers actually rate. A conviction stays on the record insurers price from for three years (up to six for the most serious offences), and it can be re-rated at every renewal in that window. Because of that, a single conviction could cost far more over three years than the fine itself — anywhere from a few ...

Written by Jon Cohen, Partner at NextLaw · Published August 17, 2026 · Last updated August 17, 2026 · Applies to Ontario, Canada (Toronto focus). Ontario speeding law and Ontario Court of Justice figures are current as of August 2026. If you got a speeding ticket in Toronto, don't just pay it. In Toronto, fighting a speeding ticket may be more worth it than almost anywhere else in Ontario. According to NextLaw Analysis of Ontario Court of Justice, Provincial Offences Court Statistics (FY2026), Toronto withdrew about half of the speeding charges it resolved, while some other Ontario courts withdrew fewer than 1 in 100. Where your ticket is prosecuted may matter as much as how fast you were going. That isn't a prediction about your specific ticket. But it is exactly why the first move is rarely to just pay it — paying a speeding ticket the day it arrives is a guilty plea, and it closes every door before you have looked through any of them. Source: Ontario Court of Justice, Provin...

Written by Jon Cohen, Partner at NextLaw — a speeding ticket law firm based in Toronto, representing drivers in every court in Ontario. Published August 17, 2026 · Last updated August 17, 2026 · Current as of the most recent Ontario Court of Justice Provincial Offences Court Statistics (FY2026) and the Provincial Offences Act in force in 2026. For most Ontario speeding tickets, you don't strictly need a lawyer or paralegal — you have the right to fight the ticket yourself, for free. Here's the catch almost no one mentions: the most common way drivers end up convicted isn't losing in court — it's paying the fine. Under Ontario's Provincial Offences Act, paying a ticket is an automatic guilty plea. So the real question isn't "lawyer or paralegal." It's whether what a conviction could do to your insurance is worth more than the fee. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it isn't. And sometimes people call us too late. Paying a speeding ticket is a guilty ple...

Written by Jon Cohen, Partner at NextLaw — a speeding ticket law firm based in Toronto, representing drivers in every court in Ontario. Published August 13, 2026 · Last updated August 13, 2026 · Current as of the Ontario Court of Justice set-fine schedule in effect in 2026. A speeding ticket in Ontario is a set fine that scales with how far over the limit you were — roughly $2.50 to $6.00 for every kilometre over. A typical 15-over ticket works out to about $52.50 all-in, and the most recent Ontario Court of Justice data puts the average speeding fine ordered at about $148. But the fine is the small part. A conviction can sit on the record insurers price from for years — and that could be the number that dwarfs the ticket. This guide breaks down the true cost of an Ontario speeding ticket: fine, demerit points, and insurance, plus one wrinkle almost every page online gets wrong. The $52.50 fine is the small part: an Ontario speeding conviction could add far more in insurance over three...

What to Say (and Not Say) During a Traffic Stop in Ontario The moment you see those flashing lights in your mirror, what you say and do matters more than you might think. According to NextLaw's analysis, how you handle a traffic stop can affect both the immediate interaction and any future case. Here's what you need to know. What You Should Do Jon Cohen, who has represented thousands of drivers in traffic cases, outlines the basics: Pull Over Safely - Signal and pull to the right shoulder or a safe location - Don't make sudden moves - Turn off your engine - Stay in your vehicle unless the officer asks you to exit Keep Your Hands Visible Put your hands on the steering wheel where the officer can see them. Don't reach for anything until the officer approaches and you can tell them what you're reaching for. Provide Required Documents When asked, provide your driver's license, vehicle registration, and insurance card. You're legally requi...