Ontario: Young Drivers Subject to New Licence Rules

Young drivers under the age of 21 will soon no longer be allowed to have consumed a drop of alcohol before they get behind the wheel.

Under provincial legislation which takes effect on Aug. 1, drivers 21 years old and younger will be subject to zero alcohol tolerance – regardless of whether they have a G1 or G2-classified licence.

“This is about protecting young people, protecting people who drive on our roads,” said Transportation Minister Kathleen Wynne.

Previous rules allowed drivers to have about one drink; those stopped were subject to a warning.

Any driver 21 or under who is found to have violated the law will receive a 24-hour roadside suspension, a fine of up to $500 and a 30-day licence suspension.

A second offense leads to a 90-day suspension while a third offense will lead to the cancellation of your license.

Ontario has the lowest impaired driving rate in Canada, she said.

“When a quarter of all fatal collisions in Ontario involve a drinking driver we know that there is more that we can do.”

“That combination of being young and being a new driver can be particularly dangerous.”

Statistics suggest that drivers aged 19-21 are almost one-and-a-half times more likely to be involved in drinking and driving fatal injury crashes in comparison to other drivers, Wynne said.

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