Petty charges can apply if driver gives lip to police
I’m just wondering, if a driver were to talk back to police after being stopped for speeding, for example, what more could the officer do? If the driver has all papers in order, isn’t drunk or wanted and calmly speaks his or her mind, isn’t the officer legally limited to only writing the original ticket? Basically, your question is: what attitude-adjustment charges might an officer tack on during a traffic stop, if so motivated? There are plenty of seemingly petty charges listed in the Highway Traffic Act. Taking a strict, letter of the law approach, almost any driver will be in violation of at least one of the following: 1. Fail to sign permit (ownership) in ink. Reg. 628, Sec. 8(1). 2. Obstruct plate (virtually all dealer plate frames block “Ontario” or “Yours to Discover”). S. 13(2). 3. Dirty plate, if numbers obscured. S. 13(2). 4. Numbers on plate not plainly visible (e.g. tinted plate cover). S. 13(2). 5. Validation sticker in the wrong place (must be in top right corner of rear plate; or front for commercial plates). S. 7(1)(c). 6. No licence plate light at night. S. 62(19). 7. Drive with colour-coated or coloured headlights (must be white or amber only; blue is a problem). S. 62 (1,7). 8. Have a sign obstructing the window (all “Baby on Board” signs qualify). S. 73(1)(b). 9. Windshield obstructed (including any GPS, technically). S. 73(1)(a). I suggest mounting it on the dash. 10. Colour-coating obstructing the interior (front window tint too dark). S. 73(3). 11. Crowding driver’s seat (e.g. cargo or a pet cuddling with you). S. 162. 12. Unnecessary noise (such as loud radio, honking or a bad muffler). S. 75(4). 13. Excessive fumes/unreasonable smoke. S. 75(3, 4). 14. Litter highway (includes cigarette ashes and butts). S. 180. The world is not your ashtray. 15. Have a siren. Sounding anything that resembles a police siren is illegal (including a car alarm siren while in motion). The wording of this section suggests merely being equipped with a siren, activated or not, may be considered unlawful. S. 75(6).
Also, giving the finger, or European raised forearm, to police or other drivers could earn a charge of improper arm signal under S. 142(4).
Note that all charges are laid at the discretion of police, but are still subject to interpretation/validation in court. Email your non-mechanical questions to Eric Lai at wheels@thestar.ca. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.