They are astronomical, they are dramatic and they are here to stay. At least for now.

Starting New Year's Day, the fines for major traffic infractions doubled, tripled and in some cases even quadrupled.

"Yes, they've gone up considerably," said Const. Graham Williamson of Ontario Provincial Police. "We are just happy to have laws which make people safe."

The fine for red-light violations has increased to $325 from $180, and to $480 from $180 in a community safety zone, such as those surrounding hospitals and schools.

Drivers without seat belts or child seat violations will now be fined $240 instead of the previous $110, while motorists charged with careless driving will have to fork out $480 now as opposed to $315.

But the most drastic fine increase is for failing to stop for an emergency vehicle – it's now $490 instead of $110.

"The idea is to deter people from passing . . . make the roads safe," said Sgt. Paul Rinkoff of Toronto Police.

The new fines are set by the provincial ministry of transportation.

There's more: apart from the possibility of a two-year licence suspension and six months in jail, the maximum penalties for careless driving or failing to remain at the scene of an accident have gone up to $2,000 from $1,000.

The top penalty for failing to pull over and stop for emergency vehicles quadruples to $2,000, plus, three demerit points and a possible two-year licence suspension.