DISTRACTED DRIVING LAWS STILL CAUSING CONFUSION

By Kirk Winter

If you ask any experienced driver in Ontario what they have seen in the car beside them that might be considered distracted driving the answers might frighten you into never leaving your driveway. In January of 2019, Ontario implemented some of the toughest distracted driving laws in Canada. Many Ontarians, though, only know vaguely about the very narrow definition the province has taken on the issue and what the punishments are.

When I was a university student and regularly commuted from Mississauga to downtown Toronto, my father and I marvelled at what we saw being done in the vehicles around us that might distract a driver from their primary duty of safely driving their car. We saw people shaving, curling their hair, drinking coffee, eating their breakfast, or in stop and go traffic as we got closer to downtown, reading newspapers and books propped on their steering wheels. I date myself by saying that this was the pre-cell phone era, and the only hand held device that might have been present in a vehicle was a citizens band radio.

Fast forward almost 40 years and the situation found daily on Ontario roads has changed for the worse. The ubiquitous cell phone is everywhere. The dash boards of cars now resemble the Starship Enterprise, and I am not so sure that the information overload that they supply in any way benefits the driver. Some aftermarket firms will now install gaming consoles in car dashes just to make things even more hectic.

With collisions on the rise, particularly because of cell phone usage while driving, and private insurance companies screaming foul, 12 months ago the Government of Ontario introduced a new and very narrow set of laws around distracted driving.

These new laws specifically target cell phones, GPS systems, portable media players and car mounted display screens.

The cell phone has clearly come in for the closest scrutiny. The “use of handheld wireless communications devices to text, dial or e-mail” is strictly forbidden. The use of hand held electronic entertainment devices is strictly forbidden. Viewing car display screens for purposes unrelated to driving (changing the radio station or changing the climate setting for the vehicle) is strictly forbidden. Programming a GPS device, other than by voice commands, is strictly forbidden.

Many people get caught using these devices while they are stopped in traffic, as that is now illegal also.

Because existing distracted driving fines did little to alter peoples’ driving behaviour, the new law rolled out four levels of very significant punishments for those who choose to drive in a distracted manner.

A first time conviction will cost you $615 if settled without a court date, or a fine of $1,000 if you fight the ticket and lose. You will also receive three demerit points and a 3-day suspension of your licence if you challenge the ticket in court and lose.

For a second conviction, the fine remains $615 for every ticket settled without a court date. If you challenge a distracted driving ticket for a second time and lose for a second time you will be looking at a $2,000 fine, six demerit points and a 7-day suspension.

For a third and any subsequent convictions, the fine remains at $615 if settled without a court date. For those who want to fight the ticket and lose for a third time in court the fine is up to $3,000, six demerit points and a 30-day driving suspension.

For young drivers without their full “G” licence, the fine structure is the same, but the court may also include a 30- to 60-day licence suspension or even licence cancellation.

What about some of those drivers we talked about earlier who insist on eating, drinking or doing their personal grooming in a moving automobile? If you cause an accident doing any of those things, you may be charged with the far more serious crime of careless driving at the discretion of the attending officer.

The Ontario Provincial Police encourages drivers to report distracted driving that they witness on the highways and byways of Ontario, but only after the driver has pulled over, turned off the engine and can give the phone call to 9-1-1 their full attention.