So... with that line of thinking, every time someone is stopped for a certain infraction the officer should have no discretion and lay all applicable charges? Speeding (for the full amount), Fail to produce valid insurance card, fail to produce valid permit, ooops your licence plate light is out, oh my, the validation on your plate is in the wrong spot. I"d much rather have an officer who can use his/her discretion and if I'm stopped take the offence notice that's given, be respectful and if I feel I've been wrongly charged, then I may take the chance that the notice may be "amended...

Wow. Extrapolating from what you are saying, the officer is, of course, not obligated to inform the driver of any additional charges he MIGHT CONSIDER in addition to the offence notice he is actually handing out. If so, would this not open the door to a "and NOW I am going to teach you!" reaction when the driver decides to plead not guilty? If this happens within the six months, the officer can then decide to introduce additional charges "from left field"? In the case outlined above, can it really be sufficient that the officer makes a note to the effect of "was also s...

Some tidbits: The HTA states: "commercial motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle having permanently attached thereto a truck or delivery body and includes ambulances, hearses, casket wagons, fire apparatus, buses and tractors used for hauling purposes on the highways; ("vehicule utilitaire") "historic vehicle" means a motor vehicle that, (a) is at least 30 years old, and (b) is substantially unchanged or unmodified from the original manufacturers product. 2000, c. 29, s. 1 (2). I could not find any reference to weight, but was informed by two MTO offices that the t...

I am a volunteer fire fighter in a rural area of Ontario as well. The HTA is quite clear - in your POV you are obligated to pull over and make room for the (EMS) emergency vehicle. On a more practical level, fire gets dispatched to medical emergencies to ensure a swift response, because EMS may be delayed for multiple reasons. Obviously, EMS was quick enough to catch up with you. In addition, an ambulance is probably quicker on any rural road than a pumper is, so why not let EMS get to scene first - pull the pumper over - and then see, upon arrival, if you can assist or clear. Something for th...

First off, this is not in response to an offence notice received. I am asking purely for compliance purposes. I have an antique truck, 1974, tandem axle, weighs 6300 kg empty (weigh scale verified) and has a load capacity of 5 tons for a total weight of 11300 kg. I restored the truck, maintain it meticulously and keep it for parades, historic vehicle shows and my personal pleasure of driving it. On very rare occasions, I use it for picking up loads to use around the house, such as top soil or gravel for the driveway. Personal use only - neither the use of the vehicle, not its ownership is comm...

Komitet wrote:Stanton may be incorrect, one of my employees was recently stopped on the 400 nb for driving with his beacon on. He was informed that the amber light is for service vehicles "performing" service.
This was a hydro one truck just driving. Not working. I think at the minimum you need a slow moving vehicle triangle affixed to your rear.

I would think the slow moving vehicle sign is a no-no. My truck is capable of reaching and sustaining speeds greater than 40 km/h and displaying the sign on a vehicle that is faster is explicitly prohibited.

I operate a (historic) tandem axle truck with Ontario licence plates on public highways. The top speed of the vehicle is below the speed traffic on a highway customarily moves at (my truck tops out at 80 km/h). I am worried about getting rear-ended by an inattentive driver and contemplate operating an amber beacon on my truck for that reason, to increase visibility of the fact that my truck is there. The truck is not engaged in construction activities and only very rarely towing anything. Common sense would suggest that a law enforcement officer would prefer the beacon over having to do the co...

Thank you for the insights. This is helpful.

I will explore using magnetic backing for the military police signs. That way, I can put them on when the truck is on display and take them off when on a public road.

Here it goes: I have a 6x6 military truck (M35), restored, insured, registered, plated. No historic plates because of weight.

It used to be a Military Police rig and I would like to restore the markings as such. My questions:

1) Am I allowed to display "Military Police" on the vehicle?
2) There should be 2 red spotlights on the front of the truck and one on the rear. I guess they are ok as long as I keep them switched off on a public highway. Do I have to cover them up as well?

An ATV with a snow plow attached to the front doesn't become any more of a "snow plow vehicle" for the purpose of the HTA than does a pickup truck with a plow on the front. You would drive your pickup truck on the road uninsured and unplated just because it has a plow on it, would you? "Snow plow" in the HTA is meant to refer to those purpose build machines driven around by guys who work for the city. Simon, if this is indeed so, it re-opens my original question about backhoes. If the interpretation of the vehicle categories for the purpose of the HTA is indeed as narrow a...

My bad. That makes it very clear now.
So, a backhoe is not a motor vehicle as per the HTA and it ends right there. End of confusion!

Hwybear, thank you. So, what you posted means that a road building machine is a motor vehicle under the HTA and therefore has to have a permit and display license plates in order to travel on a highway.

I have yet to see one that does.

My question is not meant to offend the construction industry. If there is indeed a "permit" of some sort, what is it based on? How are these vehicles insured for on-road use? Are they subject to a safety and emissions inspection, similar to other vehicles that use highways? Clearly, many of these vehicles are not built for road use (lack of suspension, slow speed, not all wheels braked, operator safety devices, protruding parts etc.). I just want to have some information that dispells my impression that authorities simply permit a double-standard for on-road use without any basis in ...

I searched but could not retrieve a satisfactory answer. It seems matter-of-fact that all sorts of work equipment, namely backhoes, loaders and other similar mororized vehicles without licence plates, sometimes equipped with a slow moving vehicle sign, often not, some with an amber beacon, some without, are encountered on a highway, travelling under their own power, sometimes on multi-lane roads and often for considerable distances. I was under the impression that these vehicles are not licenced to be on a highway and have to be trailered between work sites. Am I wrong?? I see many close calls...

Thank you for your valued opinions! My intention is not to endanger any passengers or break an obvious regulatory provision. I have used and intend to use the vehicle with passengers on the bed solely on local streets for the purpose of a parade, rememberance day activity and the like. I have no intention to run it like a primitive motor coach on the highway. At the same time, I did not want to engage in an activity that was clearly out of bounds or leaves my with unmanageable liability. The answers suggest that an officer may wish to issue an offence notice; however, I now carry a a laminated...