Tip Tuesday with the Oxford OPP - July 2026

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Tuesday, 28 July 2026 09:13

Constable Randi Crawford called the Heart FM studio for the July edition of Tip Tuesday this morning.

OXFORD - The Civic Holiday long weekend is fast approaching, so lots of people will be hitting the roads for a summer getaway.

Community Safety and Media Relations Constable Randi Crawford answered a variety of questions in regards to road rules during the July edition of Tip Tuesday with the Oxford OPP.

You can find the complete breakdown of the questions answered below:

1) What does it mean when you have a box with the letter "R" on a speeding ticket? Does it help when someone is fighting a speeding ticket in court?

Constable Crawford says this means you were given a reduced ticket by the officer. You could try to fight it in court, but she says there is a possibility that it might not work out in your favour.

"So let's say a person was caught speeding and the officers note said they were going 130 kilometres per hour in a 100 zone, but the officer reduced it to gave them a ticket for going 110 kilometres per hour. The Crown might say that the officer was already nice enough to reduce the charge, and now this person wants the charge reduced or thrown out?"

If the judge agrees with the Crown, the charge would stay or in a worst case scenario, the reduced status could be taken away. This means you could face a heftier penalty in the end.

2) Are transport truck drivers allowed to drive in the far left lane of a three lane, 400 series highway? I have witnessed this on more than a number of occasions.

Constable Crawford says the answer is simple.

"They are not to be in that lane unless they are avoiding a possible collision ahead, avoiding debris on the road, there is a detour, or something like that."

She adds the transport truck driver could be charged with failing to stay in the right lanes and the fines could range from $110 to thousands of dollars.

3) When travelling on a three lane, 400 series highway, is it better to stick to the far right/far left lanes or cruise in the middle? Is the middle lane supposed to be free for passing?

In a perfect world, Constable Crawford says everyone would go by the book, so drivers would be primarily going the speed limit in the slow lane (far right), only utilizing the middle lane when they need to pass someone or allow someone else to merge onto the highway.

However, that's usually not the case.

"Most people should be in that first lane because they should be going at a nice flow of traffic and have the middle lane to move over into when you have to. Most people these days are probably flowing between the first lane and the second lane quite often, but I would say more so now they are in the middle lane flowing into the fast lane because we have so many transport trucks."

Crawford says you should aim for a safe flow of traffic, be aware of your surroundings, and reduce the amount of times you're changing lanes.

4) Why do some provinces have horizontal traffic lights while others (like Ontario) have them hanging vertically?

Constable Crawford says there is no legal reason for this, that she is aware of. She says it all comes down to the weather systems in the region and what local engineers think is best.

However, this question is a good reminder for everyone to research the road rules in an area before driving there.

"We're all used to the lights the way they are, but we need to get used to what the other lights are going to be like. Is there going to be more of them? Is there going to be a second green light? Can I turn right on a red? So it's always best to check those rules out before you even go to make sure you know what you can and can't do."

The next Tip Tuesday is scheduled for Tuesday, August 25th and you can submit a question online here.