Understand updates to the fines for offences under the Highways Act

We've made some changes to the enforcement of Highways Act and Regulation offences. There are two major changes to be aware of.

What’s changed

New fines

Before, some offences in the Act and Regulations did not have set fines.

Instead of getting a ticket, a company or driver who committed an offence would:

• receive a summons to court; and
• be required to make a mandatory court appearance.

Now, there are set fines for these offences, providing individuals with the option to pay the fine and avoid a court appearance altogether.

Updates to existing fines

Offences with existing set fines have increased to:

• align with the new fines; and
• increase the penalty for breaking rules, which encourages more people to follow them.

Find the full details of the regulation amendment or see a list of violations and their fines below.

Why we’ve changed it

Some violations under the Highways Act, Highways Regulation, and Bailey Bridges Weight Restriction Regulation were not included in the Summary Convictions Regulation.

This omission made it challenging to enforce these violations, resulting in a more burdensome process for both the:

• officers when laying charges; and
• individuals or companies charged with infractions who had to attend court.

How this impacts you

These changes are now being enforced by Carrier Compliance officers at the Whitehorse and Watson Lake weigh stations. 

Some examples of possible violations that could lead to penalties are:

• unauthorized damage to highway;
• damage to highway – vehicle without   air-powered tires;
• fail to report to weigh scale;
• overweight vehicle; and
• driving over-dimensional vehicle without a permit.

A full list of the offences is below.

Fines for new Summary Convictions Regulation offences

Highways Act offences 

Offence	Fine amount
Unauthorized travel on closed highway	$350
Fail to pay ferry toll	$200
Interfere with ferry operation	$500
Unauthorized highway blockage or interference with vehicle passage	$350
Unauthorized interference with highway maintenance or construction	$500
Unauthorized  damage to highway	$500
Deposit unauthorized material on highway	$350
Unauthorized occupying highway	$350
Unauthorized material dragged along highway	$350
Unauthorized skids/rails/mechanical devices on highway	$350
Unauthorized loading of platform/mailbox/structure on highway	$200
Unauthorized work on or in highway	$500
Unauthorized discharge of noxious substance on highway	$350
Unauthorized parade or event on highway	$350
Unauthorized damage to public improvement	$500
Damage to a ferry	$500
Deface/damage/remove traffic control device	$500
Unauthorized placement of sign	$200
Damage to highway - vehicle without pneumatic tires	$350

 

Highways Regulation offences

Offence	Fine amount
Over-width vehicle without required warning devices	$350
Drive prohibited pole trailer combination	$200
Unauthorized accesses to highways (residential)	$350
Unauthorized accesses to highways (non-residential)	$350
Unauthorized towing of more than one vehicle	$500

Bailey Bridges Weight Restriction Regulation offence

Offence	Fine amount
Overweight vehicle on bailey bridge without a permit or inviolation of permit	$500

Updated fines for existing Summary Convictions Regulation offences

Highways Regulation offences

Offence	Previous fine	New fine
Fail to report to weigh scale	$200	$350
Fail to obey officer	$200	$500
Fail to produce documentation	$100	$350
Overweight vehicle, gross vehicle weight (a) excess weight is ≤ 1,000 kg	$100	$200
(b) excess weight is > 1,000 kg	$200 + 0.03/t-km	$350 + 0.50/t-km*
Overweight vehicle, axle group weight (a) excess weight is ≤ 1,000 kg	$100	$200
(b) excess weight is > 1,000 kg	$200 + 0.03/t-km	$350 + 0.50/t-km
Fail to produce permit	$100	$200
Driving over-dimensional vehicle without a permit	$100	$350
Over-dimensional load	$100	$350
Over-dimensional articulated bus	$100	$200
Prohibited vehicle on Tagish Road	$100	$200
Fail to equip over-dimensional vehicle/ load with required warning devices	$100	$350
Fail to have required escort	$200	$500
Escort exceeds 6,000 kg	$50	$200
Escort signs and lights not in good repair or visible	$100	$200
Escort does not meet safety requirements	$100	$200
Indicating escort when not required	$50	$200
Moving over-dimensional vehicle during prohibited hours	$100	$350
Driving prohibited vehicle without/ in violation of permit	$100	$350

 

*$0.50 per tonne that the vehicle is overweight, times the number of kilometres travelled on Yukon highways while being overweight.