The Province of Ontario’s legislature has unanimously passed the Countering Distracted Driving and Promoting Green Transportation Act, 2009, which makes it illegal for motorists to use hand-held wireless communication devices while driving. Emergency calls, such as calls to 911, will not be affected.
Once fully in place, which will not be probably be until the fall, the new law will also prohibit drivers from using portable video games or other electronic entertainment devices, or viewing display screens unrelated to the driving task such as laptops, or DVD players while driving.
The penalties are stiff, and appropriate. Drivers that text, type, e-mail, dial, or chat using a prohibited hand-held device could be fined up to $500. Those who place others at risk as a result of using a hands-free device or any other distraction can be charged with careless driving and face fines of up to $1,000, six demerit points, a driver's license suspension and possible jail time. If convicted of dangerous driving (a criminal offense in Canada), drivers could face a penalty of up to $2,000 and five years in jail.
The Ontario government is now writing the regulations so that they can be readily enforced, such as by the Ontario Provincial Police officers that are behind the wheels of their unmistakable black-and-white cruisers. The fall timing coincides with onset of winter and increasingly treacherous driving conditions where the last thing any driver should be doing is using and paying attention to any technology other than their vehicles, and others around them.
Transport Canada estimates that driver distraction is a contributing factor in about 20 per cent of all collisions. Drivers who use cell phones are four times more likely to be in a crash.
In passing the law Ontario joins more than 50 countries worldwide that already have similar legislation in place, along with a growing number of North American jurisdictions. These include neighboring Quebec and New York State, plus Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and California.
The new law does permit drivers to use hands-free wireless communication or entertainment devices, such as:
* A cell phone with an earpiece or headset using voice dialing, or plugged into the vehicle's sound system
* A global positioning system (GPS) device that is properly secured to the dashboard or another accessible place in the vehicle
* A portable media player that has been plugged into the vehicle's sound system
“A driver's first responsibility is to drive safely,” says the province. “Any unnecessary activity that distracts a driver from the task of driving should always be avoided.”
Brendan B. Read is TMCnet’s Senior Contributing Editor. To read more of Brendan’s articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Jessica Kostek
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