Careless Driving vs. Dangerous Driving in Ontario

Careless driving: the provincial offence

Section 130 of the Highway Traffic Act makes it an offence to drive without due care and attention, or without reasonable consideration for others using the highway. As our careless driving page covers, this carries 6 demerit points, a reported fine range of roughly $400 to $2,000, and a possible licence suspension of up to two years at the court's discretion -- but because it's a provincial offence under the Provincial Offences Act, a conviction doesn't create a criminal record.

Dangerous driving: the federal offence

Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, under section 320.13 of the Criminal Code, is a different matter entirely. It's a true criminal offence, prosecuted federally rather than provincially, and a conviction can result in a criminal record along with the possibility of jail time. Where the dangerous driving causes bodily harm or death, the Criminal Code sets out separate, more serious provisions for those outcomes specifically.

The "marked departure" standard

The Supreme Court of Canada, in R. v. Beatty, set out that a dangerous driving conviction requires more than an ordinary lapse in judgment -- the Crown has to show a "marked departure" from the standard of care a reasonable driver would exercise, with the accused knowing, or reasonably ought to have known, that the manner of driving was dangerous. This is a meaningfully higher bar than the careless driving standard, which focuses more simply on whether the driving fell short of ordinary care.

How the two relate in practice

In practice, the same underlying incident can sometimes be assessed against either standard, and which charge actually gets laid tends to depend on the severity of the driving and the consequences involved -- conduct that falls short of ordinary care but doesn't rise to a marked departure is more likely to be treated as careless driving, while conduct the Crown considers a marked, serious departure, especially where injury or death resulted, is more likely to be pursued as a Criminal Code dangerous driving charge instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources