Ontario · Distracted Driving · Windsor
Handheld Device Ticket in Windsor
Charged on the E.C. Row, Huron Church, or the 401 near the bridge? A distracted driving conviction suspends your licence from the first offence, even though it's a Part I ticket. Understand what's actually on the line before you pay it.
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Distracted Driving in Windsor — how it actually works
Windsor is a border city, and the Huron Church Road corridor feeding the Ambassador Bridge carries heavy commercial traffic year-round — patrolled by Windsor Police Service, alongside the E.C. Row Expressway. The OPP covers Highway 401 right up to the last kilometres before the crossing. A s.78.1 Highway Traffic Act charge for a hand-held device can be laid by either, and either way the matter is prosecuted at 400 City Hall Square.
It's a Part I ticket, but the consequence isn't typical of one: a conviction suspends your licence starting with the first offence — 3 days, then 7, then 30 — on top of a fine starting at $500 and 3 demerit points (6 for an offence committed within five years of an earlier handheld or display-screen conviction). How distracted driving charges are defended in Ontario covers the full penalty structure.
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Distracted Driving in Windsor
My Windsor ticket reads "HANDHELD COMMUNICATION DEVICE" — is that distracted driving?
Yes, that's the exact wording Ontario officers write on the ticket for a s.78.1 Highway Traffic Act charge, generally called distracted driving. If your ticket reads that way, this is your charge.
Is the licence suspension for distracted driving different in Windsor?
No — the Highway Traffic Act sets the suspension province-wide. A first conviction carries a 3-day suspension in addition to the fine and 3 demerit points (6 for an offence committed within five years of an earlier handheld or display-screen conviction), rising to 7 days on a second and 30 on a third, the same in Windsor as anywhere in Ontario.
Where is a Windsor distracted driving ticket heard?
Windsor Provincial Offences Court at 400 City Hall Square, Suite 401 — every Highway Traffic Act charge laid inside the City of Windsor is prosecuted from that one office.
Related pages
This may not be the whole picture — here's how we handle other charges in Windsor, and how Distracted Driving plays out in other Ontario cities.
Other charges in Windsor
Distracted Driving elsewhere in Ontario
Legal information, not legal advice. Laws, fines and demerit points change; check the current Highway Traffic Act and the Ontario Court of Justice set-fine schedule before relying on a figure. Using this site or sending a form does not create a paralegal-client relationship.