In Ontario, stop signs control the rate and flow of traffic at intersections to prevent accidents and protect the public. Disobeying a stop sign can create risky and dangerous situations and therefore the law requires drivers approaching a stop sign to come to a full and complete stop before proceeding. A Disobey Stop Sign ticket is a minor-level traffic ticket with low demerit points.

Section 136(1)(a) of the Ontario Highway Traffic Act creates the offence for when an Ontario driver disobeys a stop sign. Also known as a “Stop Sign – Fail to Stop” ticket, traffic law in Ontario requires every driver approaching a red, octangular stop sign to stop their motor vehicle (or bicycle) before proceeding through an intersection.  The Act indicates that you must stop your vehicle at the marked solid line, or in the absence of this line, before crossing the threshold of any crosswalk.  If neither a stopping line or crosswalk exist at the intersection, the law requires you to stop immediately before entering the intersection.

What constitutes a “full and complete” stop?  Generally, this means that your vehicle’s forward momentum is halted completely from moving for a period of time. If you stop properly, you can actually feel the forward momentum shift from the front of your vehicle to your back axel and wheels before coming to rest.  Once you have felt this momentum shift and halt, you may proceed safely through the intersection.

Court-imposed set fine:

Following a conviction for disobeying a stop sign, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) will then impose the following:

While a disobey stop sign ticket is classified as a minor offence from an insurance rate point of view, and while a single conviction may impact your insurance rates at all, multiple convictions or cases involving an accident may increase your premium.

The offence created for disobeying a stop sign is classified as an “Absolute Liability” offence. For the offence to be proven in court, absolute liability offences only require the proof that the action took place. A submitted defence of due diligence is inapplicable for this respected charge. Limited defences are available, such as:

• Prove It – In the absence of any technical defences such as date, time, jurisdiction, identity, etc., the prosecution must prove all elements of a disobey stop sign ticket beyond a reasonable doubt. These tickets generally require eye-witness testimony to support the prosecution’s case. The “prove it” defence challenges Crown evidence through cross-examination to establish the credibility and reliability of eye-witness testimony in determining whether the violation occurred.