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Road safety is a shared responsibility, and it starts with each of us. Every driver, cyclist, and pedestrian plays a role in keeping our roads safe. From wearing seatbelts, to following the speed limit, driving sober, and avoiding distracted driving, following the law helps protect everyone and ensures we all make it home safely.
Let's work together to create safer roads for our whole community.
Impaired Driving
One area of Road Safety that we give constant attention to is Impaired Driving. Impaired driving remains one of the leading criminal driving offences in Canada.
The Niagara Regional Police Service is committed to keeping the roads of the Niagara Region safe. Using traffic enforcement and public education our aim is to keep the motoring public as safe as possible.
Distracted Driving
The Niagara Regional Police Service would like to remind motorists that it is illegal for Ontario drivers to use any handheld communication and entertainment devices.
Police have the ability to lay charges, where warranted, of Careless Driving or other offences under the Highway Traffic Act or Criminal Code driving offences for situations where drivers are using electronic devices. Distracted drivers are a safety risk to themselves and others. The Niagara Regional Police Service is committed to ensuring the safety of all motorists in Niagara.
When driving, you are not permitted to use hand-held communication and entertainment devices or view display screens unrelated to the driving task, with the following exceptions:
Distracted driving can lead to loss of demerit points, large fines, licence suspension, serious injury or death.
For Further Information:
Wearing a seatbelt is one of the simplest and most effective ways to stay safe on the road. It is also the law.
In Ontario, every driver and passenger must wear a properly adjusted seatbelt, and drivers must ensure that all passengers under 16 years old are safely buckled. Young children must be seated in the correct car seat or booster based on their height, weight, and age to ensure maximum protection.
Failing to wear a seatbelt puts lives at risk, and can result in fines and demerit points.
Seatbelts and properly installed car seats for children save lives. Every year in Niagara motorists and their children are needlessly injured because they were not wearing their seatbelts or the car seats were not properly installed.
Currently, any child under 9 kg. (20 lbs.) must be in a properly secured rear-facing car seat and a child between 9 kg. and 18 kg. (20 lbs. to 40 lbs.) must be in a properly secured forward-facing car seat.
Under provincial law children who are between 18 kg. to 36 kg. (40 lbs. to 80 lbs.), less than 145 cm (4 feet 9 inches) in height, or under the age of 8 must be in approved booster seats. Once they reach any of these milestones, it is important to ensure that the seatbelt fits them properly before moving them out of a booster seat and into a conventional car seat.
For additional information on appropriate car safety equipment and their proper installation, you can visit the Niagara Region website:
The Niagara Regional Police Service would like to remind parents that children under the age of 18 years must wear an approved helmet while operating a bicycle. Failure to comply with this section of the Highway Traffic Act could result in a fine of $83.00.
In order to be approved, a helmet must meet one of the following standards:
Helmets with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) label alone are not approved at this time. Although these helmets are likely safe, they currently do not comply with regulation 610 of the Highway Traffic Act and should be limited to off road use.
As of January 2016, motorists can NO longer turn left, right or proceed through a crosswalk on the clear half of the roadway. You now MUST wait until the entire crosswalk is empty of both pedestrians and School Crossing Guards.
School Crossing Guards fall under the Highway Traffic Act. It is the law for all drivers to stop in the presence of a crossing guard displaying a stop sign. Drivers who violate this could be fined anywhere from $150 to $500. Drivers may also face 3 demerit points. Fines doubled in Community Safety Zones.
Degraded Licence Plates
It It is important that police are able to readily identify vehicles from the front and back to ensure compliance with the law. But just as important, members of the general public often use licence plates to report vehicles used in crimes.
To learn more about degraded licence plates, please click here.
Contact Us
Niagara Regional Police Service
Headquarters 5700 Valley Way Niagara Falls,
ON L2E 1X8
T: 905-688-4111
1 District - St. Catharines & Thorold
T: 905-688-4111 Ext: 1024233
2 District - Niagara Falls & Niagara on the Lake
T: 905-688-4111 Ext: 1022200
3 District - Welland & Pelham
T: 905-688-4111 Ext: 1023300
5 District - Fort Erie
T: 905-871-2300
6 District - Port Colborne & Wainfleet
T: 905-735-7811
8 District - Grimsby, Lincoln & West Lincoln
T: 905-945-2211
