Police cracking down on dangerous drivers

Published Jul 07, 2026  •  3 minute read

Chief Superintendent Andre Phelps, Commander, Highway Safety Division, OPP speaks during a joint press conference hosted by the OPP to provide details on Project E.R.A.S.E. (Eliminate Racing Activities on Streets Everywhere) with police officers from several services, police vehicles, and confiscated street vehicles serving as a backdrop in Mississauga, Ontario on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. Photo by (Peter Power/Postmedia News)

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In co-operation with several police forces across the province, Toronto Police is cracking down on abhorrent road behaviour, and at some point, aggressive drivers are going to get erased.

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“This type of behaviour is not tolerated and is dangerous for everybody using our roads,” Toronto Police Services Superintendent Katherine Jackson said on Tuesday afternoon in Mississauga. “The risks are real, and the stakes are high, and we take these offences seriously.”

Project ERASE was established to address the serious risk associated with stunt driving, street racing, excessive speeding, careless driving and large-scale car meets that can escalate into dangerous behaviour on our roads.

ERASED

This Acura was seized as part of Project ERASE, a multi jurisdictional project between several police services across the Greater Toronto Area. Photo by Gordon Anderson/Toronto Sun

The acronym stands for Eliminating Racing Activities on Streets Everywhere. It is a Greater Toronto Area wide enforcement campaign that specifically targets the aforementioned behaviours. The Ontario Provincial Police, York Regional Police, Peel Regional Police, Halton Regional Police and Hamilton Police Service are involved in the multi-jurisdictional enforcement campaign.

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During the two-month campaign that finished up at the end of June, the TPS issued 148 traffic tickets for stunt driving offences and responded to 151 reports related to dangerous driving.

“I can say the numbers remain high,” Insp. Paul Qureshi told the Toronto Sun. “High enough that we are concerned and we continue to ensure we have a collaborative joint operation where we are trying to address these type of dangerous driving behaviours. Just one person or car taken off the road could potentially save a life out there. Even one is too many.”

Fines can range anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 upon conviction.

Qureshi says this type of wanton behaviour is not just limited to the 400 series of highways. This reckless attitude and disregard for others for an adrenaline rush is ubiquitous.

Everywhere, anytime

This Honda was seized as part of Project ERASE, a multi jurisdictional project between several police sevices across the Greater Toronto Area. Photo by Gordon Anderson/Toronto Sun

“We see it everywhere,” he said. “On the highways, in parking lots. These types of events happen when parking lots are empty because there is space. When the malls are closed, for example, you might see cars congregate in that area and they decide to go to a smaller side street, or maybe a warehouse area where there is not a lot of traffic and then they engage in that type of behaviours.”

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From an instant decision to the test a vehicle’s power on a Tuesday afternoon in a 30 km/h zone, to an organized meeting at a mall after hours, these instances occur just as randomly as the behaviour.

“Typically, it happens throughout the day, depending how the driver feels at the time, but we have seen car meets and things like that, typically in the evening hours, sometimes weekends where later on at night you will see the actual racing happening between cars and really dangerous behaviour with high speeds, cutting each other off, squealing off the tires, all of the things that encompass stunt and dangerous driving,” Qureshi said,

Qureshi feels the police assigned to this duty are making a dent in trying to cure the behaviour through enforcement and education.

“We are catching people out there engaging in these behaviours and hopefully with every charge comes the educational component, an awareness component because when somebody gets the ticket or get their car seized, it just doesn’t impact that person, that person may be using their family’s car so now the entire family is educated,” he said.

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Toronto police are determined to get out in front of this issue, but more than uniformed officers are needed to ensure enforcement succeeds.

“One of the components involved is the undercover aspect and intelligence gathering,” Qureshi said. “There are a great number of resources out there where we can determine where these events are going to take place, and we make sure that we have enough officers and resources in place to try and deter this type of behaviour.”

The numbers elsewhere

During May and June in Peel Region, the police made 92 arrests with 1,400 charges, including 107 for stunt driving, 52 for unnecessary noise while 100 vehicles were seized. Over the Canada Day holiday week, the OPP made more than 19,000 traffic offences in relation to the Canada Day week enforcement initiatives, including more than 8,600 speeding charges and 311 stunt driving charges

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