OPP stop vehicle travelling illegally on Highway 401 twice in same day

Police patrolling Ontario’s busiest highway here in Kingston ended up stopping the same vehicle twice in the same day – less than two hours apart – towing the vehicle and laying charges both times.

According to the Frontenac County Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), just before 12:30 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, officers stopped a vehicle that was “observed travelling well below the speed limit” eastbound on Highway 401 in the City of Kingston. The ensuing investigation found that the driver, a 20-year-old from Etobicoke, was unlicensed. That person was charged with driving without a licence.

The 43-year-old passenger in the vehicle, also from Etobicoke, was charged with:

• Permitting an unlicensed person to drive a motor vehicle
• Driving a motor vehicle with no currently valid permit
• Failing to have an insurance card

As a result, the vehicle in question was towed off the highway, the OPP said in a press release on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.

After returning to regular patrol, officers with the Frontenac OPP observed the same vehicle, once again travelling eastbound on Highway 401 in Kingston, just before 2 a.m. The vehicle was again stopped, and this time, the 43-year-old was driving. As a result, that individual was again charged, further to the earlier charges, with:

• Class G1 licence holder – driving at an unlawful hour
• Class G1 licence holder – driving on a prohibited highway
• Class G1 licence holder – carrying a front seat passenger (unqualified driver)
• Class G1 licence holder – unaccompanied by a qualified driver

Kingstonist has inquired with the Frontenac OPP as to where in Kingston the vehicle was stopped, if the 20-year-old was in the passenger in the vehicle when it was stopped the second time, and how the two (who were not licensed to drive the vehicle at all or at that time of day respectively) were able to get the vehicle out of the tow yard. The OPP did not immediately respond. Kingstonist will update this article if/when more information becomes available.