Kink with Ontario Highway Traffic Act

By Katy Burley

BELLEVILLE – A recent head-on collision in the Quinte Mall parking lot highlights a
quirk of Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.

At approximately 12:15 Saturday afternoon two vehicles collided on the east side of the
mall’s large parking lot. The collision was forceful enough that the airbag deployed in
one of the vehicles, and one of the drivers suffered minor injuries.

But Belleville police say that no charges were laid due to the accident occurring on
private property.

The Highway Traffic Act doesn’t cover private property, which includes business
parking lots, according to police. There are exceptions in cases where there is some form
of criminal act involved. For example, if someone is driving recklessly in a parking
lot and people witness it happening, the driver could still be charged with dangerous
driving, police say. If someone runs a stop sign in a place like the mall parking lot, he
or she can’t be charged with running a stop sign. However, if that person gets into an
accident, insurance companies may still take into account the fact that he or she ran a
stop sign, police said.