Bill 42 explained in plain English
Highway Traffic Amendment Act (Waste Collection Vehicles and Snow Plows), 2016
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill 42 amends the Highway Traffic Act to enhance safety around waste collection vehicles and snow plows by requiring drivers to slow down and exercise caution when approaching them.
This Act amends the Highway Traffic Act to require drivers to slow down and proceed with caution when approaching certain vehicles, including waste collection vehicles and snow plows, whether they are stopped or moving. It also clarifies when drivers may need to change lanes to pass these vehicles safely. Definitions for "snow plow" and "waste collection vehicle" are added.
- Requires drivers to slow down and proceed with caution when approaching stopped emergency vehicles, tow trucks, and other road service vehicles that have flashing amber lights.
- Requires drivers to slow down and proceed with caution when approaching stopped or moving waste collection vehicles collecting waste from the side of the highway.
- Requires drivers to slow down and proceed with caution when approaching stopped or moving snow plows with flashing blue lights.
- Requires drivers to change lanes when safely possible if approaching these vehicles in an adjacent or same lane on highways with multiple lanes.
- Adds definitions for "snow plow" and "waste collection vehicle" to the Highway Traffic Act.
- Repeals and replaces certain subsections of the Highway Traffic Act related to approaching stopped vehicles.
- Amends other subsections of the Highway Traffic Act to include references to the new provisions for waste collection vehicles and snow plows.
- Drivers of vehicles on Ontario highways.
- Operators of waste collection vehicles.
- Operators of snow plows.
- Operators of emergency vehicles.
- Operators of tow trucks.
- Municipalities and local boards that operate waste collection vehicles.
- Local Services Boards and the Crown in right of Ontario that operate waste collection vehicles.
- Drivers are obligated to slow down and proceed with caution when approaching specific stopped or moving vehicles (emergency, tow, road service, waste collection, snow plows).
- Drivers may be obligated to change lanes when safely possible to pass these vehicles on multi-lane highways.
- Drivers are permitted to stop and not pass certain vehicles if it can be done safely and is not otherwise prohibited by law.
- The Act came into force on the day it received Royal Assent.
- The bill does not specify the exact distance drivers must maintain when slowing down, only that they must "slow down and proceed with caution."
- The bill does not specify penalties for non-compliance, only the obligation to slow down and proceed with caution.
Changes rules requiring drivers to slow down when passing stopped emergency vehicles and tow trucks to also include waste collection vehicles and snow plows. It also adds definitions for these vehicles and clarifies lane change requirements around them. Existing wording about approaching stopped vehicles and references to certain subsections is updated.
Source: Section 1
These subsections, which previously dealt with approaching stopped emergency vehicles and tow trucks, are replaced with new wording that expands the requirement to slow down and proceed with caution to include other road service vehicles, waste collection vehicles, and snow plows. It also specifies requirements for changing lanes.
Source: Section 1(1)
The original wording of this subsection, which stated that drivers were not prevented from stopping and not passing certain vehicles if it could be done safely, is replaced with new wording that clarifies this applies to the updated provisions including waste collection vehicles and snow plows.
Source: Section 1(2)
This subsection is amended to include references to the new provisions (subsections 3.1 and 3.2) regarding waste collection vehicles and snow plows, in addition to the existing references.
Source: Section 1(3)
This subsection is amended to add definitions for "snow plow" and "waste collection vehicle."
Source: Section 1(4)
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
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Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced