A conviction for Drive No Insurance, which is contrary to section 2(1) of the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act (CAIA), is a serious affair.  Since motor vehicle insurance is mandatory to have on your vehicle, being caught without a contract of insurance may cost you thousands of dollars on top of future insurance consequences.

While used interchangeably with terminology such as operate no insurance, or driving without insurance, a ticket for Drive No Insurance simply explains itself. In Ontario, if you are operating a vehicle on any highway or road without having valid insurance on the vehicle you become a risk to yourself and other drivers.

The penalties for a conviction are high and are meant to deter both the defendant and other driver’s on the road. The statutory minimum that is set must speak to the principle of deterrence or else many driver’s in Ontario would opt out of paying for the proper coverage.

Court-imposed penalties;

There are no demerit points associated with a conviction for Drive No Insurance as it is not an offence housed by the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, but instead another Provincial Offences Act statute aforementioned as the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act.

While this infraction does not carry any post-conviction consequence with the acquisition of demerit points like many other tickets with the MTO, it is still one of the most severe convictions a person may have on their driving record.

Contrary to popular presumptions, the law for failing to have your insurance is not ask black-and-white. Many believe that you either have insurance, or you simply do not. While this would be the case for Part 1 traffic tickets, this infraction is action classified as being one of strict liability, which does allow for the defence of due diligence, outside of the “prove it” defence.