Cell Phone Ban while Driving

[The Saint]

Has this Bill been passed yet for Ontario?

[Bouche]

Yes I believe so....and the law that if you are under the age of 21, even with a G class liscense, you can have no alcohal in you while driving.

[Big Johnny69]

I was talking to an officer on a job site on Monday and I believe he said Sept 1 for Ontario.

[Golfer_Gofer]

I was talking to an officer on a job site on Monday and I believe he said Sept 1 for Ontario.

here is the latest news info I could find.

"Exact timing of the ban has not yet been confirmed, but a representative at the Ministry of Transporation has advised Marketnews that it would be at least a few months before it would come into effect.
He also advises that while specific details of Bill 118 have not yet been finalized, the terms and conditions are likely to be just as they were originally proposed in October 2008, without any amendments. Fines could range from $60-$500, but would not include any demerit points. "A driver," explained Bob Nichols, Senior Media Liaison Officer at the Ministry of Transporation Issues and Media Office, "would receive a ticket and could elect to plead guilty and pay the set fine or to contest the charge in court."

[rezadue]

So does this mean you can't even talk on the phone if you have a bluetooth headset?

[Bouche]

nono, i think touchless is OK

[dreaded_snowman]

Am I the only one who thinks this law is silly and won't really improve things? IMO, it's not the phone against the head that causes the problem, it's the dialing (not watching the road) which folks can do out of sight anyhow, even with a headset, and the conversation distracting their attention while they are driving.... Don't even get me started on the people who are reading their email or texting as they drive down the 417...

[Bouche]

i agree....its the texting thats dangerous.....stats say texting while driving is more dangerous then being intoxicated or on drugs.....I believe it

[Gary Madore]

It's actually the divided attention that's most dangerous.

Dialling is itself inherently dangerous, as it requires looking somewhere other than the road.

But the simple act of talking (concentrating on a conversation) takes one's attention off driving and impairs our ability much as if we're drunk.

Although more scientifically presented data is available, there was an episode of Mythbusters that dealt with this. Grant, Kari and Tori all drove better drunk than they did while yapping on the phone. It scares the pi$$ out of me on the highways to know this and to see every second driver with a phone stuck to his/her head.

So, the point of my babble is to say that although using touchless negates the danger posed by looking elsewhere while diailling, it doesn't do jack for the human mind's inability to concentrate on more than one thing at a time (yapping or driving).

I don't mean to sound holier than thou, either: I'm guilty.

Cheers!

Gary

[Shivas Irons]

I don't understand how this wouldn't be already covered under dangerous/reckless/careless driving laws we already have. Seems redundant to me.

[SGH]

I don't understand how this wouldn't be already covered under dangerous/reckless/careless driving laws we already have. Seems redundant to me.

Spoke with my cousin about this (he's at OPP training right now - so this is a hot topic for him). He said that although it is essentially captured by the reckless driving laws, the intent is to not make "reckless driving" a blanket term. This will give them more flexibility in terms of how to treat the offences separately.

Also, I think the idea is that although you may not be driving recklessly while on your cellphone, the government still wants the act eliminated. I suppose it could be proven in court that although you were on your cell phone, you weren't driving recklessly, and hence were not undertaking illegal activities.

Regardless, I can see myself donating a couple ticket's worth of funds to the local municipalities.

On a separate note, I thought this was a stupid law until I leared how many texts some people send per day. When teenagers are sending something like 100 texts a day, can you imagine how many of those are sent while driving? That's a solid enough argument to convince me that something needs to be done.

[goochy]

It's actually the divided attention that's most dangerous.

Dialling is itself inherently dangerous, as it requires looking somewhere other than the road.

But the simple act of talking (concentrating on a conversation) takes one's attention off driving and impairs our ability much as if we're drunk.

Although more scientifically presented data is available, there was an episode of Mythbusters that dealt with this. Grant, Kari and Tori all drove better drunk than they did while yapping on the phone. It scares the pi$$ out of me on the highways to know this and to see every second driver with a phone stuck to his/her head.

So, the point of my babble is to say that although using touchless negates the danger posed by looking elsewhere while diailling, it doesn't do jack for the human mind's inability to concentrate on more than one thing at a time (yapping or driving).

I don't mean to sound holier than thou, either: I'm guilty.

Cheers!

Gary

By this reasoning then talking to a fellow passenger in the car is more dangerous than drinking and driving. I don't get that.
Don't get me wrong...I'm all in favour of banning hand held cell phones while driving (it has been banned in the UK for years) but I can't see how a hands free system (with voice activated dialing like "Onstar") is any more dangerous than a conversation with a fellow passenger.

[SGH]

By this reasoning then talking to a fellow passenger in the car is more dangerous than drinking and driving. I don't get that.
Don't get me wrong...I'm all in favour of banning hand held cell phones while driving (it has been banned in the UK for years) but I can't see how a hands free system (with voice activated dialing like "Onstar") is any more dangerous than a conversation with a fellow passenger.

I thought the same thing, but apparently not:

http://www.ergoweb.com/news/detail.cfm?id=2293

[jonf]

It's actually the divided attention that's most dangerous.

Dialling is itself inherently dangerous, as it requires looking somewhere other than the road.

But the simple act of talking (concentrating on a conversation) takes one's attention off driving and impairs our ability much as if we're drunk.

Although more scientifically presented data is available, there was an episode of Mythbusters that dealt with this. Grant, Kari and Tori all drove better drunk than they did while yapping on the phone. It scares the pi$$ out of me on the highways to know this and to see every second driver with a phone stuck to his/her head.

So, the point of my babble is to say that although using touchless negates the danger posed by looking elsewhere while diailling, it doesn't do jack for the human mind's inability to concentrate on more than one thing at a time (yapping or driving).

I don't mean to sound holier than thou, either: I'm guilty.

Cheers!

Gary

The problem with the law is that, for it to be logical, we need to ban passengers in cars. If it really is the conversation that is distracting, then we should all be riding motorcycles and be done with it. Might as well ban radios, coffee, maps and maps from cars. Not to mention children. The answer is not to introduce penalties for those who yap on the phone, etc. It won't stop anyone. The answer is to increase punishments for people who actually get in accidents while yapping on the phone, or eating, or drinking a coffee.

[goochy]

I thought the same thing, but apparently not:

http://www.ergoweb.com/news/detail.cfm?id=2293

Wow! I guess that puts me to rights.
I suppose someone in the car with you is at least aware of road conditons, weather etc and can see whats happening as well as your non verbal gestures and knows when to shut up whereas someone on the end of a phoneline has no idea to any of this.

[Indio]

Wow! I guess that puts me to rights.
I suppose someone in the car with you is at least aware of road conditons, weather etc and can see whats happening as well as your non verbal gestures and knows when to shut up whereas someone on the end of a phoneline has no idea to any of this.

You haven't met Bugsy yet have you?