Section 1: Interpretation, general

Ontario

Highway Traffic Act

Definitions

1. (1) In this Act, "ambulance" includes,

(a) an ambulance as defined in the Ambulance Act,

(b) a cardiac arrest emergency vehicle operated by or under the authority of a hospital, and

(c) an emergency response vehicle, other than an ambulance as defined in the Ambulance Act, operated by an ambulance service that is used to provide emergency response services, and that has been assigned an emergency response vehicle number by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care; ("ambulance")

"bicycle" includes a tricycle and unicycle but does not include a motor assisted bicycle; ("bicyclette")

"built-up area" means a territory contiguous to a highway not within a local municipality, other than a local municipality that had the status of a township on December 31, 2002 and, but for the enactment of the Municipal Act, 2001, would have had the status of a township on January 1, 2003, where,

(a) not less than 50 per cent of the frontage upon one side of the highway for a distance of not less than 200 metres is occupied by dwellings, buildings used for business purposes, schools or churches,
(b) not less than 50 per cent of the frontage upon both sides of the highway for a distance of not less than 100 metres is occupied by dwellings, buildings used for business purposes, schools or churches, or (c) not more than 200 metres of the highway separates any territory described in clause (a) or (b) from any other territory described in clause (a) or (b),

and signs are displayed as required by the regulations; ("agglomération")

"bus" means a motor vehicle designed for carrying ten or more passengers and used for the transportation of persons; ("autobus")

"chauffeur" means a person who operates a motor vehicle and receives compensation therefor; ("chauffeur")

"commercial motor vehicle", unless otherwise defined by regulation, means a motor vehicle having attached to it a truck or delivery body and includes an ambulance, a hearse, a casket wagon, a fire apparatus, a bus and a tractor used for hauling purposes on a highway; ("véhicule utilitaire")

"compensation" includes any rate, remuneration, reimbursement or reward of any kind paid, payable, promised, received or demanded, directly or indirectly; ("rémunération")

"conversion unit" means a mechanical device consisting of a single axle designed to convert a two-axle vehicle into a three-axle vehicle; ("essieu relevable")

"conviction" includes a disposition made under the Young Offenders Act (Canada) or a sentence imposed under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (Canada); ("déclaration de culpabilité")

"crosswalk" means,

(a) that part of a highway at an intersection that is included within the connections of the lateral lines of the sidewalks on opposite sides of the highway measured from the curbs or, in the absence of curbs, from the edges of the roadway, or
(b) any portion of a roadway at an intersection or elsewhere distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by signs or by lines or other markings on the surface; ("passage protégé pour piétons")

"CVOR certificate" means a Commercial Vehicle Operator's Registration Certificate issued under section 17; ("certificat d'immatriculation UVU")

"Deputy Minister" means the Deputy Minister of Transportation; ("sous-ministre")

"driver" means a person who drives a vehicle on a highway; ("conducteur")

"driver's licence" means a licence issued under section 32 to drive a motor vehicle on a highway; ("permis de conduire")

"farm tractor" means a self-propelled vehicle designed and used primarily as a farm implement for drawing ploughs, mowing-machines and other implements of husbandry and not designed or used for carrying a load; ("tracteur agricole")

"fire department vehicle" includes an emergency crash extrication vehicle owned and operated by a rescue organization approved by the Minister in writing for the purposes of this Act and a vehicle designated in writing by the Fire Marshal of Ontario as a fire department vehicle; ("véhicule de pompiers")

"garage" means every place or premises where motor vehicles are received for housing, storage or repairs for compensation; ("garage")

"goods" includes all classes of materials, wares and merchandise and livestock; ("biens")

"gross weight" means the combined weight of vehicle and load; ("poids brut")

"highway" includes a common and public highway, street, avenue, parkway, driveway, square, place, bridge, viaduct or trestle, any part of which is intended for or used by the general public for the passage of vehicles and includes the area between the lateral property lines thereof; ("voie publique")

"intersection" means the area embraced within the prolongation or connection of the lateral curb lines or, if none, then of the lateral boundary lines of two or more highways that join one another at an angle, whether or not one highway crosses the other; ("intersection")

"King's Highway" includes the secondary highways and tertiary roads designated under the Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act; ("route principale")

"median strip" means the portion of a highway so constructed as to separate traffic travelling in one direction from traffic travelling in the opposite direction by a physical barrier or a raised or depressed paved or unpaved separation area that is not intended to allow crossing vehicular movement; ("terre-plein central")

"Minister" means the Minister of Transportation; ("ministre")

"Ministry" means the Ministry of Transportation; ("ministère")

"mobile home" means a vehicle, other than a motor vehicle, that is designed and used as a residence or working accommodation unit and exceeds 2.6 metres in width or eleven metres in length; ("maison mobile")

"motor assisted bicycle" means a bicycle,

(a) that is fitted with pedals that are operable at all times to propel the bicycle,
(b) that weighs not more than fifty-five kilograms,
(c) that has no hand or foot operated clutch or gearbox driven by the motor and transferring power to the driven wheel,
(d) that has an attached motor driven by electricity or having a piston displacement of not more than fifty cubic centimetres, and
(e) that does not have sufficient power to enable the bicycle to attain a speed greater than 50 kilometres per hour on level ground within a distance of 2 kilometres from a standing start; ("cyclomoteur")

"motor vehicle" includes an automobile, a motorcycle, a motor assisted bicycle unless otherwise indicated in this Act, and any other vehicle propelled or driven otherwise than by muscular power, but does not include a street car or other motor vehicle running only upon rails, a power-assisted bicycle, a motorized snow vehicle, a traction engine, a farm tractor, a self-propelled implement of husbandry or a road-building machine; ("véhicule automobile")

"motorcycle" means a self-propelled vehicle having a seat or saddle for the use of the driver and designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground, and includes a motor scooter, but does not include a motor assisted bicycle; ("motocyclette")

"motorized snow vehicle" has the same meaning as in the Motorized Snow Vehicles Act; ("motoneige")

"official sign" means a sign approved by the Ministry; ("panneau officiel")

"park" or "parking", when prohibited, means the standing of a vehicle, whether occupied or not, except when standing temporarily for the purpose of and while actually engaged in loading or unloading merchandise or passengers; ("stationnement")

"peace officer" includes a mayor, warden, reeve, sheriff, deputy sheriff, sheriff's officer, justice of the peace, jailer or keeper of a prison, and a police officer, bailiff, or other person employed for the preservation and maintenance of the public peace, or for the service or execution of civil process, or any officer appointed for enforcing or carrying out the provisions of this Act; ("agent de la paix")

"pedestrian crossover" means any portion of a roadway, designated by by-law of a municipality, at an intersection or elsewhere, distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by signs on the highway and lines or other markings on the surface of the roadway as prescribed by the regulations; ("passage pour piétons")

"power-assisted bicycle" means a bicycle that,

(a) is a power-assisted bicycle as defined in subsection 2 (1) of the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations made under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Canada),

(b) bears a label affixed by the manufacturer in compliance with the definition referred to in clause (a),

(d) is capable at all times of being propelled on level ground solely by using muscular power to operate the pedals; ("bicyclette assistée")

"public vehicle" has the same meaning as in the Public Vehicles Act; ("véhicule de transport en commun")

Note: On a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor, the definition of "public vehicle" in subsection 1 (1) of the Act is repealed. (See: 2020, c. 34, Sched. 23, s. 7 (1))

"Registrar" means the Registrar of Motor Vehicles appointed under this Act; ("registrateur")

"regulations" means the regulations made under this Act; ("règlements")

"road-building machine" means a self-propelled vehicle of a design commonly used in the construction or maintenance of highways that,

(a) belongs to a class of vehicle prescribed in the regulations,

(b) has the features or equipment prescribed in the regulations, or

"road service vehicle" means a vehicle while it is being used for highway maintenance purposes by or on behalf of a municipality or other authority with jurisdiction and control of the highway; ("véhicule de la voirie")

"roadway" means the part of the highway that is improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular traffic, but does not include the shoulder, and, where a highway includes two or more separate roadways, the term "roadway" refers to any one roadway separately and not to all of the roadways collectively; ("chaussée")

"safety glass" means any product that is composed of glass and so manufactured, fabricated or treated as substantially to prevent the shattering and flying of the glass when struck or broken and that is approved by the Ministry, or such other or similar product that is approved by the Ministry; ("verre de sécurité")

"self-propelled implement of husbandry" means a self-propelled vehicle manufactured, designed, redesigned, converted or reconstructed for a specific use in farming; ("matériel agricole automoteur")

"stand" or "standing", when prohibited, means the halting of a vehicle, whether occupied or not, except for the purpose of and while actually engaged in receiving or discharging passengers; ("immobilisation")

"state of the United States of America" includes the District of Columbia; ("État des États-Unis d'Amérique")

"stop" or "stopping", when prohibited, means the halting of a vehicle, even momentarily, whether occupied or not, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the directions of a police officer or of a traffic control sign or signal; ("arrêt")

"street car" includes a car of an electric or steam railway; ("tramway")

"through highway" means a highway or part of a highway designated as such by the Minister or by by-law of a municipality, and every such highway shall be marked by a stop sign or yield right of way sign in compliance with the regulations of the Ministry; ("route à priorité")

"trailer" means a vehicle that is at any time drawn upon a highway by a motor vehicle, except an implement of husbandry, a mobile home, another motor vehicle or any device or apparatus not designed to transport persons or property, temporarily drawn, propelled or moved upon such highway, and except a side car attached to a motorcycle, and shall be considered a separate vehicle and not part of the motor vehicle by which it is drawn; ("remorque")

"trailer converter dolly" means a device consisting of one or more axles, a fifth wheel lower-half and a tow bar; ("avant-train à sellette")

"Tribunal" means the Licence Appeal Tribunal; ("Tribunal")

"vehicle" includes a motor vehicle, trailer, traction engine, farm tractor, road-building machine, bicycle and any vehicle drawn, propelled or driven by any kind of power, including muscular power, but does not include a motorized snow vehicle or a street car; ("véhicule")

"wheelchair" means a chair mounted on wheels driven by muscular or any other kind of power that is designed for and used by a person whose mobility is limited by one or more conditions or functional impairments. ("fauteuil roulant")

R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 1 (1); 1994, c. 27, s. 138 (1); 1999, c. 12, Sched. G, s. 24 (1, 2); 2002, c. 17, Sched. F, Table; 2006, c. 19, Sched. D, s. 9 (1); 2009, c. 5, s. 1 (1-7); 2009, c. 33, Sched. 26, s. 3 (1, 2); 2014, c. 9, Sched. 2, s. 1 (1, 2); 2015, c. 27, Sched. 7, s. 1 (1, 2); 2016, c. 5, Sched. 12, s. 1 (1); 2017, c. 2, Sched. 17, s. 1.

Suspension or cancellation of licence or permit

(2) Where in this Act the Minister, a provincial judge, a justice of the peace or other official is authorized or directed to suspend or cancel the licence or permit of any person, and the person is the holder of both a licence and a permit issued under this Act, every such authority extends to both licence and permit and every such direction may in the discretion of the Minister, provincial judge, justice of the peace or other official be made to apply to both licence and permit. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 1 (2).

Overpass and underpass

(3) For the purposes of Part IX and any regulations or municipal by-laws made thereunder, every overpass and underpass shall be deemed to form part of the highway that it connects. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 1 (3).

References to Criminal Code

(4) Any reference in this Act to the Criminal Code (Canada) shall be deemed to be a reference to the Criminal Code (Canada) as amended or re-enacted from time to time. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 1 (4).

Idem

(5) Any reference in this Act or the regulations to a conviction or discharge for an offence under the Criminal Code (Canada) includes a conviction or discharge for the corresponding offence under the National Defence Act (Canada). R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 1 (5).

Pardons

(6) This Act and the regulations apply to a person who has been granted a pardon under the Criminal Records Act (Canada) in the same manner as if the person had not been granted the pardon. 2001, c. 9, Sched. O, s. 1.

Transition, police villages

(7) This Act, as it read on December 31, 2002, continues to apply to police villages continued under subsection 456 (1) of the Municipal Act, 2001 . 2002, c. 17, Sched. F, Table.

Calculation of days

(8) Where a suspension or impoundment is imposed under this Act, the period of the suspension or impoundment may be determined by counting 24 hours for each day. 2019, c. 8, Sched. 1, s. 3.

Definition of resident of Ontario

(9) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing who is a resident of Ontario for any purpose of this Act. 2008, c. 17, s. 28.

Definition of "commercial motor vehicle"

(10) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations defining "commercial motor vehicle" differently from its definition in subsection (1) for the purposes of any Part or provision of this Act, and those regulations may include or exclude any vehicle or class of vehicles for the purposes of that definition, including the inclusion or exclusion of vehicles or classes of vehicles based on a use or uses to which a vehicle may be put. 2014, c. 9, Sched. 2, s. 1 (3).

Definition of "road-building machine"

(11) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations for the purpose of the definition of "road-building machine" in subsection (1),

(a) prescribing classes of vehicles that are or are not road-building machines;

(b) prescribing features and equipment that a vehicle must have or must not have to be a road-building machine;

(c) prescribing uses to which a vehicle must be put or must not be put to be a road-building machine. 2016, c. 5, Sched. 12, s. 1 (2).

Application of Act to places other than highways

1.1 The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations providing that this Act or any provision of this Act or of a regulation applies to a specified place or class of place that is not a highway. 2007, c. 13, s. 2.

Modification of application of Act or regulations

1.2 The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations,

(a) providing that any Part or provision of this Act, or any regulation or provision of a regulation, applies to a specified class of vehicles or to drivers, operators, owners or lessees of a specified class of vehicles in addition to the vehicles, drivers, operators, owners or lessees that the Part, provision or regulation otherwise applies to, prescribing modifications to that Part, provision or regulation for any such application and prescribing conditions and circumstances for any such application;

(b) exempting a specified class of vehicles, or drivers, operators, owners or lessees of a specified class of vehicles, from any Part or provision of this Act, or any regulation or provision of a regulation, and prescribing conditions and circumstances for any such exemption;

(c) defining "operator" and "owner" for the purposes of regulations made under clause (a) or (b). 2016, c. 5, Sched. 12, s. 2.

1.3 Repealed: 2019, c. 8, Sched. 1, s. 4.

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Section 1: Interpretation, general

Ontario

Highway Traffic Act