WINNIPEG, Man. — Transportation and Government Services Minister, Steve Ashton, has introduced changes to Manitoba’s highway traffic legislation.

One of the key changes under Bill 40, the Highway Traffic Amendment Act, is an increased penalty for drivers who get behind the wheel without a licence. Higher penalties for suspended driving, careless driving and failing to stop for a police area will see violators shelling out maximum fines of up to $5,000 with maximum licence suspensions of one year. One-year imprisonment will also be considered for drivers convicted of suspended driving or failing to stop for a police officer.

“It is estimated there are approximately 20,000 suspended drivers on our roadways,” points out Ashton.

Another change to the provinces’s highway laws includes increased shipper liability in the commercial trucking industry. The shipper will be liable for trucking violations when it can be shown they may have coerced a carrier to violate commercial vehicle safety legislation.

The new Bill also allows for the tracking of commercial driver abstracts, with a separate record of violations compiled for commercial drivers, which will be available to employees or prospective employees.