Ontario driver charged for driving too slow on Highway 401

Traffic on Highway 401 in Toronto on Monday April 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

An Ontario driver has been charged for driving too slow on Highway 401.

Const. Kirk Papadopoulos said the driver was going 60 km in a 100 km/h zone on the major roadway.

The Toronto police officer flagged the incident in a Twitter post on Friday afternoon.

“Driving too slow on [a highway] can be dangerous due to increased risk of accidents, impaired traffic flow, raised chance of rearend collisions,” Papadopoulos said.

Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act defines “unnecessary slow driving” as a vehicle driven at such a slow rate of speed that it “impedes” or “blocks” the normal flow of traffic.

“[It’s] crucial to retain a safe, reasonable speed & use hazard lights when slower than flow of traffic,” Papadopoulos said.

Drivercharged-Slow Driving Hwy401
60km in 100km
Driving too slow on HWY can be dangerous due to increased risk of accidents, impaired traffic flow, raised chance of rearend collisions
Crucial to retain a safe reasonable speed & use hazard lights when slower than flow of traffic pic.twitter.com/yoYexT7NQf

— PCPapadopoulos (@PCPappy) March 31, 2023

The charge for unnecessary slow driving is no less than $150 and not more than $1,000, in addition to two demerit points, according to the Highway Traffic Act.