If you’re looking to pull some wheelies or stoppies or otherwise engage in moto-hoonery this summer in Ontario, be very, very careful. Changes to the Highway Traffic Act can see you charged with stunting even if you aren’t on the roads.
Here at CMG, we do not applaud, recommend or otherwise endorse stunt riding on public roads. But off of public roads, well, that is a matter that has traditionally been between you and the land owner. Lots of stunting has gone on illegally on private property, but other landowners were OK with hosting these events. Plenty of stunt riders have hosted wheelie competitions and other fun on private property and everyone’s been OK with that. Not anymore in Ontario, though.
Thanks to changes to the rules in late 2024, Ontario can now hand out stunt driving charges in privately-owned spaces that can be open to the public. In other words: If you’ve got permission from John’s Garage to do burnouts and wheelies in the business’ parking lot after-hours, you can still get a ticket. Section 172 of the Highway Traffic Act lays out the new places that are off-limits:
“parking lot” includes,
(a) any parking lot, garage or structure, whether public or private, paved or unpaved, flat or multilevel, above or below grade, including any driveway or road that connects the parking lot to a highway,
(b) any private, commercial or industrial parking lot or empty lot from which the public would ordinarily be excluded, and
(c) any parking lot into which drivers are expressly or impliedly invited or permitted to enter, with or without payment, and no matter whether payment is made or whether the driver entered with or without permission; (“parc de stationnement”)
We’ll see where this goes, but for now, watch yourself out there, because they’re watching you. Already, police departments are talking about crackdowns on things like “illegal car rallies.” They’ll be looking to get riders in line, too.
