Speed & Stunt Racing

Hamilton Speed & Stunt Racing Accident Law Firm

By Matt Lalande, Esq

Street racing and stunt driving often ends with not only tragic, but preventable results. Street races are illegal races are illegal, often occur spontaneously or are very loosely organized. The result of this dangerous activity is often injury or death to drivers, passengers, spectators, people in other vehicles and pedestrians.  In Ontario, the Highway Traffic Act defines several circumstances that may constitute a race or stunt including:

• chasing another motor vehicle;
• attempting to outdistance another vehicle by driving at a marked departure from the speed limit; and/or
• changing lanes to advance through traffic at a marked departure from the speed limit.

When someone decides to

stunt drive or street race, they are not only putting themselves at risk but also those they share the road with. Unsuspecting motorists and pedestrians are in danger of being hurt by drivers who stunt drive or participate in  illegal driving activity. Risky driving, excessive speeding and stunt driving are key contributors to motor vehicle injuries and deaths in Ontario.

Speeding, Racing or stunt driving are brutally serious activities which no doubt lead to many car accident related injuries or fatalities on Ontario Roadways Over the past 15 years, Hamilton Personal Injury Lawyer Matt Lalande has successfully obtained settlements for personal injury car accident victims in Oakville, Burlington, Milton, Hamilton and St. Catharines and the sudbury area family members who have died or have been seriously hurt in a street racing or stunt driving accident related activities.

If you have been hurt, our Hamilton Street Racing Injury Lawyers can help.

If you were injured in a street racing or stunt driving accident, or you have lost a family member, we can help. We often represent passengers in the vehicles involved in the street race or stunt driving, drivers and passengers in vehicles not street racing but involved in the accident as well as pedestrians and cyclists who were not involved as spectators but were victims of the accident.

Street racing and stunt driving is dangerous and unfortunately, often deadly. If you or a loved one have been involved in a catastrophic street racing accident, it is important you speak with a personal injury lawyer that is experienced in catastrophic injury and wrongful death, specifically with street racing accidents. Contact Lalande Personal Injury Lawyers for a complimentary, no-obligation consultation so we can help you understand your options, and how you can best move forward.

Have you Lost a Loved One in a Stunt Driving or Street Racing Accident in Ontario?

Losing a loved can be a devastating and traumatic experience, especially if the cause of the wrongful death could have been prevented. Families who have suffered the wrongful death of a loved one in a stunt driving or street racing accident in Ontario are entitled to bring a civil court to recover damages – both economic and non-economic – if the death was caused by unintentional neg

ligence, such as a truck or motorcycle accident.

Loved ones are entitled to bring suit for the loss of care, guidance and companionship that is lost. Although we are guided by case law, the value of losing a loved one is not always an easy one to calculate. The emotional value of the lost companionship experienced by the plaintiff, which must be estimated by the jury and converted into a dollar figure in the verdict.

A much greater portion of wrongful death  judgments are the results of dependency claims, which include the lost future earnings of the deceased person, such as any funds which were required to  assist in the raising of dependents. The compensation comes as lost future earnings, such as salary, benefits, and pension payments your loved one could have been expected to earn throughout the rest of his or her life.

Ontario Driving Laws and Street Racing 101

Any dangerous driving behavior involving high speeds can be considered stunt driving or street racing. This is especially true when a contest, bet, wager or spectators are involved. In Ontario, the Highway Traffic Act outlines street racing and stunt racing to be that  – “No person shall drive a motor vehicle on a highway in a race or contest, while performing a stunt or on a bet or wager.”

What can this mean under the Ontario Highway Traffic?

• Racing another car from a stop light
• Burnouts
• Trying to outdistance other vehicles on the road
• Trying to prevent other vehicles from passing
• Excessive speeding with the intention to arrive at the destination ahead of one or more other vehicles
• Wheelies with your motorcycle
• Staying in a passing line for longer than is reasonable to overtake
• Driving with a passenger in the trunk of a vehicle
• Driving while not in the driver’s seat
• Exceeding 50 km/h over the posted speed limit
• Driving without consideration of others on the road
• Cutting off other drivers
• Excessively tailgating another vehicle, motorbike, cyclist or pedestrian

How common is street racing in Ontario?

Despite Ontario’s efforts to crack down on street racing and stunt driving, it is still a popular activity, resulting in personal injury and wrongful deaths every year. It is suspected street racing was the cause of the crash that tragically killed a 19-year-old passenger. A 26-year old Ontario man died in an alleged street race on the QEW in April. These are just two of over 20 people who have already died from a street racing or stunt driving accident in Ontario in 2018.

Common Dangers, Hazards, & Injuries from Stunt Driving & Street Racing

Illegal street racing lacks the rules, regulations, standards and safety equipment that is found in professional car racing. Professional drivers wear fire suits, have the protection of a roll cage and have professional race training and experience.

When driving at excessive speed, it is more difficult to react to avoid pedestrians, obstacles and other vehicles. When traveling at high speeds, the impact is greater. The excessive force involved in high speed and stunt accidents results in significant injuries and a greater chance of death.

Commonly, we see traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, internal bleeding, broken bones, amputations and burns. Sadly, wrongful death is also a common result of a high speed accident.

While police forces are aiming to eradicate street racing, unfortunately, it is still occurring on our roadways.  The general public understands that speeding and driving erratically creates foreseeable danger, but there are still a large portion of “car culture” that do not seem to agree. that traveling at excessive speed imposes major problems and creates a brutally dangerous impediment to the safe operation of a car or motorcycle, such as decreased reaction time, the inability to turn safely, increased risk of rolling the car, truck or bike, and skidding off the road.

Contact our Lawyers Today

You should not have to bear the expenses that you have assumed as a consequence of another individual’s reckless driving behaviors. We can help you to better understand your legal rights and to pursue your case. There is no doubt that a serious injury can cause major financial implications and expense over the course of a person’s lifetime, especially with not being able to work – and if the injury is catastrophic.

Matt Lalande is a personal injury lawyer with extensive experience representing families of those who lost their lives and injured victims of car accidents, motorcycle accidents, trucking accidents, bicycle accidents and pedestrian accidents involving speed racing and stunt driving. It is vital that you hire a qualified lawyer that will seek punitive damages which sends a message to the public that reckless behavior and contempt of simple and ordinary driving law will not be tolerated.

Contact Lalande Personal Injury Lawyers and we will explain your rights to you – at no cost and without obligation. We will review the details of the accident, determine your options and make sure your insurer is paying your medical bills and benefits throughout the legal process.  We want to protect you and your family every step of the way.

Please complete fill out a contact form or give us a call at 905-333-8888 or 1-833-4-LAWFIRM to talk to our Hamilton Street Racing Injury Lawyers about your case today. Let our family help your family.