Street racing and dangerous driving cause too many deadly car crashes across the Greater Toronto Area and beyond, police brass say as they prepare to launch an aggressive enforcement campaign Tuesday in Mississauga aimed at cracking down on the illegal behaviour on roads and highways.

Ontario Provincial Police, who’ll host the kickoff of the annual Project ERASE collaborative enforcement campaign at their detachment in Mississauga’s north end, say stunt driving and other types of aggressive behaviour behind the wheel also top their list of targets as the lengthy initiative gets underway.

All forms of dangerous driving continue to be a troubling trend that puts lives at risk on roads and highways in Mississauga, Brampton, the GTA and across Ontario, police say.

Project ERASE — Eliminate Racing Activities on Streets Everywhere — runs each year from May through October and sees police officers in Peel, Toronto, Hamilton, Halton, York, Durham, those with Ontario Provincial Police and elsewhere proactively target the most dangerous drivers on the road.

Police concerns grow, as do numbers of dangerous drivers

Peel Regional Police Deputy Chief Marc Andrews, among those who’ll attend Tuesday’s launch steps south of Highway 401 in Meadowvale, has said in past years the concerns of police continue to grow as do the numbers of those who engage in illegal street racing, stunt driving and other high-risk driving behaviours.

In announcing this week’s campaign launch, OPP said “street racing, as well as aggressive and dangerous driving continue to be major contributing factors in vehicle collisions, injuries and fatalities on Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area roads and highways.”

The OPP’s Highway Safety Division hosts Tuesday’s kickoff event that will be attended by police brass from across the GTHA including OPP Chief Supt. André Phelps (Divisional Commander, Highway Safety Division), Toronto Police Supt. Catherine Jackson and Andrews, among others.

Peel Regional Police Deputy Chief Marc Andrews, shown here at the 2024 launch of Project ERASE, says far too many people engage in street racing and other dangerous and illegal driving behaviours.

Andrews said at the 2024 launch of Project ERASE, held at Exhibition Place in Toronto, that behind the growing number of dangerous driving offences “… are real people who’ve been impacted by reckless behaviour on our roads and, in some cases, the tragic loss of lives and devastated families. Dangerous driving behaviours put lives at risk and we will not tolerate it.”

This week through October, the multi-jurisdictional Project ERASE campaign will see police officers increase efforts to clamp down on stunt driving, street racing and other dangerous activity on the roads.

Stunt driving in Ontario is defined as travelling at:

50 km/h or more over the speed limit where the posted limit is above 80 km/h
40 km/h or more over where the limit is 80 km/h or less
a speed of 150 km/h or more on any road or highway

Drivers who are involved in stunt driving and street racing could be subject to:

30-day licence suspension at roadside
14-day vehicle impoundment at roadside (whether it’s your vehicle or not)
minimum fine of $2,000 and a maximum of $10,000
jail term of up to six months
six demerit points
upon conviction, a further licence suspension of one year for the first conviction, three to 10 years for the second conviction and an indefinite suspension for third conviction

In recent years, Peel police have identified racing and stunt driving “hot spots” in the region’s two cities and have targeted those areas as part of their enforcement strategy.

Still, street racing in Mississauga and Brampton continues to pose a significant danger to the public, police have said.

Typically, groups of street racers show up in large numbers to race in industrial areas in Peel and across the GTA late Friday and Saturday nights from about May through the end of October.

As part of Project ERASE, police also ask motorists to report dangerous driving. Those who see aggressive driving or street racing can call police at 905-453-3311 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.

Driving complaints can also be filed through the Road Watch portal on the Peel police website.


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