Ontario’s ban on hand-held devices while driving took effect on October 26, 2009.
The law makes it illegal for drivers to talk, text, type, dial or email using hand-held cell phones and other hand-held communications and entertainment devices. The law also prohibits drivers from viewing display screens unrelated to the driving task, such as laptops or DVD players, while driving. The use of hands-free devices is still permitted, and drivers may use hand-held devices to call 9-1-1. ‘Hands-free’ use means that apart from activating or deactivating the device, it is not held during use and the driver is not physically interacting with or manipulating it. Actions such as dialing or scrolling through contacts, or manually programming a GPS device, for example, are not allowed.
A recent study shows that when drivers take their eyes off the road for more than two seconds their crash risk doubles. A driver using a cell phone is four times more likely to be in a crash than a driver focused on the road. In three seconds driving sixty kilometres per hour you travel fifty metres — that’s the distance across half a football field. A momentary distraction can result in death or serious injury.
The South Simcoe Police and North Toronto Auction recently partnered together to take a pro-active step against distracted driving by teens. A driving simulator was brought into Holy Trinity High School and Bradford District High School on Tuesday, November 19th. Students from Nantyr Shores Secondary School had their turn on Thursday, November 21st. The driving simulator, provided by DriveWise in Barrie gives real-life exposure to the dangers of distracted driving without putting students at risk by mimicking as well as displaying the handling characteristics of a vehicle. Drivers can receive and send phone calls and text messages while attempting to obey the rules of the road.
Ontario’s ban on hand-held devices while driving took effect on October 26, 2009. The law makes it illegal for drivers to talk, text, type, dial or email using hand-held cell phones and other hand-held communications and entertainment devices. The law also prohibits drivers from viewing display screens unrelated to the driving task, such as laptops or DVD players, while driving. The use of hands-free devices is still permitted, and drivers may use hand-held devices to call 9-1-1.
“We hope that exposing the students to the risks of texting on a driving simulator will help the teens make safer choices on the road” says Constable Jon Ellis from the Traffic & Marine Unit.
