“Street racing” is when you drive a motor vehicle in a race with at least one other motor vehicle on a street, highway, or other location public1. It is often accompanied by “stunting,” which occurs when the driver of a motor vehicle intentionally tries to lose traction on the road or highway, spins around without maintaining control, drives with a person in the trunk of the vehicle engine, driving faster than 50 kilometers per hour over the speed limit or driving without care, attention and consideration for others2. Street racing is considered a crime against the person and reputation3. This is due to its extreme nature, the risk of personal injury and death, and the risk of damage to roads and property. It is seen as a public health and safety issue. While there are laws with related penalties aimed at combating the act of street racing, there have been several claims that certain sections of the stunt driving laws are unconstitutional for various reasons4. To combat the problem of street racing and the setbacks that come with it, many jurisdictions have implemented programs to reduce the number of accidents. Street racing is a dangerous and illegal act that carries a variety of punishments, conflicts with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and is attempted to be prevented across Ontario through the use of the ERASE program. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Because street racing is a major contributor to motor vehicle injuries and deaths, there are several penalties when being charged with street racing and stunting5. Over the years, laws against street racing have become stricter. In May 2007, the Ontario government passed Bill 203, in which the previous minimum fine for street racing was increased from $200 to $2,000 and the maximum fine increased from $1,000 to $10,000. According to Transport Minister Donna Cansfieldin, this fine was increased in the hope of cracking down on dangerous driving6. Currently in Ontario, under section 249.2 of the Criminal Code of Canada, anyone who causes the death of another person through criminal negligence while street racing is guilty of an indictable offense punishable by life imprisonment while anyone who causes bodily harm to a other person for criminal negligence while street racing is guilty of an indictable offense and faces up to fourteen years in prison7. Additionally, if a person is found guilty of street racing, there is an immediate mandatory suspension of the vehicle driver's license for seven days and impoundment for seven days of the vehicle being driven at the time of the accident and the driver may face a possible suspension of their driving license for up to two years and receive at least six demerit points on their criminal record8. Penalties can vary based on what the driver was caught doing. The more damage the driver causes, the more severe the penalties will be. On the evening of May 5, 2014, 18-year-old Vince Lisi was caught driving 150 mph on Highway 407 in Vaughan, Ontario. After being stopped by Ontario Provincial Police, Lisi was charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, stunt driving and failure to surrender a driver's licence. His car was immediately impounded and his license was suspended; both for seven days. He was also given six demerit points for driving 50 km/h over the speed limit9. This is an example of a lower fare for road racing. Even if Lisi still risks a fineup to $10,000, the consequences he faced were still minor, as he did not cause damage to the road, other property or personal injury to pedestrians or other drivers10. On June 22, 2010, in Ottawa, Ontario, 18-year-old Christian "Sisco" Williams was killed while street racing with his friend, 19-year-old Kareem Alli, when the Williams Honda crashed into a lamppost while the pair were racing speeds of up to 120 km/h11.Alli was found guilty of dangerous driving causing death and was sentenced to 30 months in prison12. This case is an example of a harsher penalty for street racing. Because dangerous driving between Williams and Alli resulted in Williams' death, the consequences Alli faced were heavier than those of Lisi. In most cases, young drivers are responsible for street racing-related charges. In 2011, in Waterloo alone, 69 citations were issued for stunt driving and almost a third of the drivers were under the age of 2013. Laws against street racing have been tightened to protect the safety of others, however, they are controversial and up for debate. When the Ontario government introduced Bill 203, it sparked widespread public debate14. Many believed the new laws were unconstitutional. One of these was section 3(7) of Ontario Regulation 455/07 because it “created an absolute liability offense for which one can be imprisoned for six months, contrary to section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.” This means that it was held to be unconstitutional to convict a person of stunt driving or speed racing under section 172 of the Highway Traffic Act solely on the basis that they were speeding15. This is because it takes away a person's right to safety, which is protected by section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms16. If a person is convicted of stunt driving for speeding, their right to safety will be deprived, which will be a direct violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The issue of speeding and street racing is one of the biggest issues when it comes to Ontario street racing laws. In April 2008, 62-year-old Jane Raham was charged with street racing after clocking herself driving 81 mph in an 50 mph zone. The 31 mph speed difference was the reason for the charge, which carried up to six months in prison, but was found unconstitutional in lower courts because Raham was unable to defend himself against the charges. Similarly, in the fall of 2009, 18-year-old Alexandra Drutz was caught driving 157 km/h on Highway 407 north of Toronto and was charged with street racing, only to have it dismissed by a Newmarket judge17. Both of these cases show the conflict between street racing laws and other Canadian laws and constitutions. In both cases, none of the defendants would have been able to defend themselves from street racing due to their driving speed. Since both women were driving 50 km/h over the limit, it was automatically assumed that both were racing on the road. This meant that prison was a possibility for both defendants when instead of street racing, they were speeding, which, while it may be similar, is not the same crime. Speeding and street racing are two distinct offenses under the Road Traffic Act and therefore have separate consequences18. Ontario's recently updated street racing laws have addressed speeding, for which the highest penalty is not equivalent to prison as it is.