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Ont. drivers could face $500 fines for using cellphones, electronic devices

ROMINA MAURINO

October 28, 2008 06:00


TORONTO - Using a cellphone while driving could mean up to a $500 fine in Ontario under a proposed law that would see the province join other jurisdictions in banning the use of hand-held devices to talk, email or send text messages while behind the wheel.

"What we're trying to avoid is driver distractions, and it's particularly difficult if a person is trying to operate something with his or her hands at the same time as driving," Transportation Minister Jim Bradley said Tuesday.

"We recommend that people not be distracted in any way.

"This is enforceable."

The move would make Ontario the fourth province to enact such a ban, following Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec and Nova Scotia.

The law wouldn't affect the use of hands-free devices such as Bluetooths or using cellphones for 911 calls, but it includes portable video games, MP3 players and DVD players. Global positioning systems will be allowed, as long as they're properly secured to the dashboard.

There are no demerit points attached to the bill, unlike in other provinces, but drivers who place others at risk by using one of the banned devices can also be charged under existing careless driving laws.

They could face fines of up to $1,000, six demerit points, a driver's licence suspension and even jail time under existing legislation.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, which became the first province to ban the use of hand-held cellphones in 2003, the penalties range from $11 to $400 plus four demerit points.

Quebec motorists face fines of $115 plus the loss of three demerit points, while Nova Scotia's fines start at $164.50 for a first offence and grow to $337 for subsequent offences.

Manitoba and Prince Edward Island are also considering bans on hand-held cellphones by drivers, but Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach has spoken against the idea, saying police tell him it would be difficult to enforce.

Bradley said the province isn't pushing to include demerit points because the penalties are significant enough, and taking drivers to court would clog up the system.

"Those who have been advocates have said that a big portion of this is education," said Bradley, who himself doesn't own a BlackBerry and often jokes about preferring his "whiteberry" - a folded stack of white papers.

"We'll have a large education piece out there recommending that people, frankly, avoid any kind of distraction."

Larry Beechey, deputy commissioner of Ontario Provincial Police, said his officers will begin enforcing the legislation as soon as it's passed.

"You see it all the time on the highways ... people weaving around in the lanes, and there's collisions that are attributable to it and some fatalities, so it is a huge concern right now," he said.

"We're trying to make the highways safer, so this is just a part of what we do on a regular day-to-day basis."

Bradley said he expects government employees to begin complying with the legislation as soon as it is introduced, but acknowledges it will take some time to get the enforcement and education programs underway.

Last month, the Ontario Medical Association released a paper indicating that speaking on a phone while driving puts drivers at "a significantly greater risk" of getting in an accident. It also found that using hands-free devices doesn't really lower the accident risk.

On Tuesday, the association said it was happy the government had taken some action.

"This has opened the dialogue," said association president-elect Suzanne Strasberg.

"We believe (drivers will be) talking about it, that they'll think about talking on the phone in the car, whether or not they're talking hands-free.

"We believe this legislation is going to make the roads safer," she added, noting early evidence from other jurisdictions shows similar legislation has reduced collisions.

The OMA says that according to the Ontario Road Safety Annual Report, there were 766 fatalities due to motor vehicle collisions in Ontario in 2005 and 71,850 injuries due to collisions, resulting in close to 50,000 hospital days.

Kris Barnier of the Canadian Automobile Association said the new law would touch all drivers and called it a "great step."

The Canada Safety Council had opposed a ban on hand-held cellphones by motorists, saying such a law would be flouted and that police should instead enforce careless driving laws that are already on the books.

Ontario's opposition parties have said there's little doubt drivers are being distracted by cellphones and other electronic equipment, but they wanted to consider details of Bradley's legislation before agreeing to speedy passage.

spike

It's about time they did this, even tho there has always been a law that you have to have both hands on the wheel at all time's unless shifting a gear.

shlammed

it's not "from now on" as it's not law yet.

kingjames1983

no points... just as fine. however then can choose to get you for dangerous driving therefore it involves points.... which is where it fell under before. Just like before they could give you a fine they just needed something to make it more aware to the public. I think its a scare tactic thats going to be somewhat effective.

bruce fee

what about
-eating
-drinking
-women putting on makeup / doing their nails
-thinking about something you did or are going to do
-changing radio stations
-changing CDs
-changing tracks/forwarding/volume
-music can block out sounds from outside, we should make it illegal to have music
-passengers talking to and distracting the driver
-police hiding to catch people speeding makes people look around and nervous
-woman PMSing
-smoking while driving
-driving with the urge to smoke and not being allowed

----

i can't wait to see how this is gonna be enforced.

k_r_a_c_k_e_r

iTrader: (3)

first time I'm going to agree with Bruce

buddhafest

well you're still allowed to use a headpiece either wired or bluetooth. So if you want to talk while driving still, just buy one of those things, they're not that expensive

Zayna

They might as well just say we cant have passengers in the car then, since they can be distracting too.

I'd like to see how this plays out.
Im pretty sure its not effective yet

... My bad. Just read bruce's post.
I AGREE! hmpft.

kingjames1983

same here Bruce...I agree fully

Fobwall

I agree with some of the stuff Bruce listed. However, cell phones be the first step.

FiveO

Dangerous driving charges wouldn't apply.

Careless driving under the HTA does, and it was the catch-all charge they could use to cover cell phone use, eating fast food behind the wheel, reading the newspaper, applying make-up or pantyhose, etc if doing so could be seen to have obvious detrimental effect on your driving.

The hard part in getting a conviction for careless driving is in proving that the act in question did in fact show "without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the highway".

A law that prohibits a specific act itself (using a cell phone) is a lot easier to enforce than a law that prohibits only the potential bad outcome of an act. It's easy to prove in court that a specifically-prohibited act has taken place. It's much harder to prove that a given act is "careless" even when a collision has resulted, let alone when no collision at all has yet occurred.

fingolfin

and thats the problem with this law.... doesn't really address any issue... i doubt it will be passed

zyepher

Speaker phone

spike

They were thinking of banning radio in all new cars a few ago.

bruce fee

1. people won't talk less on the phone.
2. people will pay less attention to their driving, and more attention looking for cops while they are on the phone.

they should enforce people driving stoned before charging people using electronics.

maybe it'll get kids voting in the future

FiveO

They just changed Canadian criminal law so that drivers suspected of driving impaired due to drug use (legal or otherwise) can be compelled to submit to a mandatory drug test.The first charges for drugged driving under this new law happened in Ontario just a few weeks ago. See http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/...7-bbbb612b1cf4

Next up - cell phones and crack-berry use while at the wheel, as per your stated wish.

buddhafest

Snap for reals? What they need to do is get cars that can drive without human input onto the roads faster. That way we can do whatever we want while in the car. I'd be tempted to have sex on a 400 series highway as the first thing.

Tyson09

iTrader: (1)

its a law, just hasn't been announced yet, but it passed

bruce fee

cool. i was under the impression that the program was created, and then the funding to train officers in it was pulled away.

now we need drug testing of police officers for drugs that come with criminal charges to ensure honesty and integrity.

civicEJ1

iTrader: (2)

drinking and driving is worst than smoking up and driving