Cell Phone Ban: Bill 118

[TorontoBoy]

This is the bill that bans cell phone, MP3s, Blackberries and such from being used while driving. I eagerly await the implementation of this bill because I believe it will make our roads safer for all. On one hand there should be no need for this bill, but on the other so many people drive while talking on their cells that makes this law required. When the law goes into effect I think you can pull over to the side of the road and legally use your cell.

Bill 118 2009
An Act to amend the Highway Traffic Act to prohibit the use of devices with display screens and hand-held communication and entertainment devices and to amend the Public Vehicles Act with respect to car pool vehicles. source

Status:

April 23, 2009

Royal Assent

Royal Assent received

Effective Date

It is likely the ban would take effect in the Fall of 2009. This will allow time for the supporting regulation to be developed, the general public to prepare for the ban by converting their devices to hands-free use and the police to prepare for the enforcement of the new law. source

[Splash]

This will make absolutely no difference in road safety for two reason.

1) People will still use their phone while driving or what ever they do right now. Just look at what happened in California. Sure people stopped doing it for a few weeks then went right back to using them. Also what's the difference between me pushing the "next" button on my MP3 or changing station on my radio?

2) It's been proven many times; there's no difference between driving with the phone in your hand and talking or using a hands free device. The reason it's unsafe is because your mind is busy in conversation and not the road.

This new law will be useless...

[m.breen]

This will make absolutely no difference in road safety for two reason.

1) People will still use their phone while driving or what ever they do right now. Just look at what happened in California. Sure people stopped doing it for a few weeks then went right back to using them. Also what's the difference between me pushing the "next" button on my MP3 or changing station on my radio?

2) It's been proven many times; there's no difference between driving with the phone in your hand and talking or using a hands free device. The reason it's unsafe is because your mind is busy in conversation and not the road.

This new law will be useless...

It's gotta start somewhere. I'm all for it 'cause I have close calls every day with xxxxheads that think driving is second to whatever they are doing in the vehihicle they are operating. I don't think the new law will be useless..They can charge them with.....

[Gnu]

This will make absolutely no difference in road safety for two reason.

1) People will still use their phone while driving or what ever they do right now. Just look at what happened in California. Sure people stopped doing it for a few weeks then went right back to using them. Also what's the difference between me pushing the "next" button on my MP3 or changing station on my radio?

2) It's been proven many times; there's no difference between driving with the phone in your hand and talking or using a hands free device. The reason it's unsafe is because your mind is busy in conversation and not the road.

This new law will be useless...

Where has it been proven?

[caboose483]

Where has it been proven?

I don't recall exactly but i remember reading articles to that effect.

When you talk to someone on the phone part of your brain is devoted to that conversation and you subconciously try to imagine that other person on the other end of the line. Talkign to someone in the car with you is a bit different because they're right there. No amount of thought is required to envision your conversation partner as they are right next to you.

For some people, that conversation becomes their primary task and driving secondary. Using a normal cell phone or a hands free unit would make little or no difference, their mind is still detached from what they should be paying attention to.

If this bill can help reduce txting and driving... well that's good!

[dankyyz]

+1.

You cant suggest, to me anyway, that somebody screwing with their phone, texting, and selecting music on a handheld device is the same as changing a station on a fixed device where you are making a couple of button presses.

The difference will be when someone gets into a fender blender at an intersection wiht a cam, they can check the tape, and convict someone more easilty with a law in place.

Also, a cop cruising on the DVP can see someone using one, and pull them over, and give them a ticket.

That will make a change. One of the few things that make people change is by loss of money. Hit them with a fine, and it makes "normal" peopel adapt. the idiots will always be idiots.

Where has it been proven?

[dragon]

ya but how about the people who drink their coffee, put on their make up, talk to a passenger,eat food.....there are so many distractions that still the bill don't cover.. you might as well ban driving all together and only have Chauffeurs?????people just got to have common sense. and we wouldn't have to make so many laws...

[caboose483]

ya but how about the people who drink their coffee, put on their make up, talk to a passenger,eat food.....there are so many distractions that still the bill don't cover.. you might as well ban driving all together and only have Chauffeurs?????people just got to have common sense. and we wouldn't have to make so many laws...

Certain activites are easy to keep as secondary to driving.

Eating food, chatting with a passenger, sipping your coffee are all things that don't involve a lot of thought. It's still possible to focus on driving while doing certain other things.

Make up.... is different.. lol.. Like Dankyyz said, idiots will always be idiots.

[Squadz]

This will hurt most trade skill businesses, simply because most of them are older generation people who have enough trouble with a cellphone, nevermind bluetooth now or whatever else hands free you need. My father's an electrician and spends almost every minute driving on the phone with customers and booking appointments, he doesn't even know how to change his ringtone to silent or vibrate, nevermind adding extra gadgets on it.

My .02 cents.

[dankyyz]

It is a shame, but your likely right. The worst offenders (meaning the ones closest to driving me into the curb) have been 50 or 60 somethings, trying to run their rolling office on the DVP.

Shame, but what can you do. I'm sure you and your dad would be besides yourselves with grief, should he be the cause of an accident as the result of that.

What did he do before? Pager. Goes off. Pull over, find a payphone (or in this case a side street to have the call on) and do the deal.

But it's certainly hard to no try to maximize the convenience of tech. I get it. People have to pull back a bit across the board, so they can concentrate on the primary task. Pilot a 2000 LB piece of steel from one place to another, safely.

This will hurt most trade skill businesses, simply because most of them are older generation people who have enough trouble with a cellphone, nevermind bluetooth now or whatever else hands free you need. My father's an electrician and spends almost every minute driving on the phone with customers and booking appointments, he doesn't even know how to change his ringtone to silent or vibrate, nevermind adding extra gadgets on it.

My .02 cents.

[TorontoBoy]

Countries that ban cell phones while driving

Lots of countries have banned cell phones while driving. With this law if a driver does get into a crash or otherwise pulled over by the popo s/he will also be charged with this offense. Over time cell phone use while driving will be reduced over time, which may mean more attentive drivers.

There will always be a few people who break the law but that's the case with all laws, even murder. The average law abiding citizen will follow most laws, including this one. Even the SUV crowd who knows it's morally wrong but will do something that is not explicitly illegal, will abide by this law.

[AdRath]

2) It's been proven many times; there's no difference between driving with the phone in your hand and talking or using a hands free device. The reason it's unsafe is because your mind is busy in conversation and not the road.

Its also been proven in studies that using a cell phone while driving has the impairment of the warn range in which they now take your car for 3 days. Kinda seems hypocritical if one offence is worth vehicle confiscation and the other one which contributes to more accidents (we all have eyes we all drive everyday the evidence is obvious) is allowed to go unchecked.

In my ideal world they would make anyone 'poorly' operating a motorvehicle whether in the warn range or gabbing on your cell be pulled over and charged under existing law for careless driving. Again these charges need to stick and I think video evidence by the police is the best way. You see someone swerving or cutting someone off its very compelling. We don't need new laws just to fix the existing ones so they function as intended.

[mxs]

+1.

You cant suggest, to me anyway, that somebody screwing with their phone, texting, and selecting music on a handheld device is the same as changing a station on a fixed device where you are making a couple of button presses.

The difference will be when someone gets into a fender blender at an intersection wiht a cam, they can check the tape, and convict someone more easilty with a law in place.

Also, a cop cruising on the DVP can see someone using one, and pull them over, and give them a ticket.

That will make a change. One of the few things that make people change is by loss of money. Hit them with a fine, and it makes "normal" peopel adapt. the idiots will always be idiots.

+1 Totally agree

[Rob MacLennan]

It is a shame, but your likely right. The worst offenders (meaning the ones closest to driving me into the curb) have been 50 or 60 somethings, trying to run their rolling office on the DVP.

Shame, but what can you do. I'm sure you and your dad would be besides yourselves with grief, should he be the cause of an accident as the result of that.

What did he do before? Pager. Goes off. Pull over, find a payphone (or in this case a side street to have the call on) and do the deal.

But it's certainly hard to no try to maximize the convenience of tech. I get it. People have to pull back a bit across the board, so they can concentrate on the primary task. Pilot a 2000 LB piece of steel from one place to another, safely.

What you do is apply the laws that already exist (operation without due care and attention, dangerous operation) and if those laws are too vaguely written, you correct that. What you don't do is create new laws that repeat those already in existence.

[toybm]

What you do is apply the laws that already exist (operation without due care and attention, dangerous operation) and if those laws are too vaguely written, you correct that. What you don't do is create new laws that repeat those already in existence.

Ideally this is the easiest way, but the current laws have been in existance for a long time and other laws have been written off of and on top of them, so changing one particular thing may be difficult. You may try to change one thing and have to change one hundred other laws to close the loop holes that are created. I guess it's easier to create one difinative law with no shades of gray to ease enforcement and shorten processing times.

I don't agree with this method but I'm think that those who pass these laws feel this is the only way and by reading the many many requests for help on beating tickets and charges on this forum, when most of them are clearly guilty of the offence, I can see why. And yes, I know we all have a right to fight any of these charges but sometimes a little responsibility for our actions is neccessary.

Lastly, it is because of these draconian laws that riding my bike is sometimes stressfull when I have to think about the cops at every turn. Quite frankly takes the fun out of it.

[Kri$han]

I wish we could make "common sense" a law.

Cuz I can browse through my iPod (through my deck) while on the 401, going 115 in normal, light traffic.

Please believe that I won't even try doing that in heavy traffic, downtown Toronto.

[slowbird]

So I cant find a song on my IPOD or talk on my phone.....

But I can steer with my knee and eat a King Supreme Combo from Burger King. Burger in one hand...Rings in the other?

According to a Police Officer I spoke to.....yes.

[djltoronto]

Also, a cop cruising on the DVP can see someone using one, and pull them over, and give them a ticket.

Can't they already do that??
As rob said, there are existing laws in place.

This new law will be useless...

Well, it should at least increase the revenues generated.

There will always be a few people who break the law but that's the case with all laws, even murder. The average law abiding citizen will follow most laws, including this one. Even the SUV crowd who knows it's morally wrong but will do something that is not explicitly illegal, will abide by this law.

Uh... ya.. like the existing speeding laws...
It is explicitly illegal to travel faster than 100 kph on the 401, but I rarely see even the most honest, law abiding churchgoer obeying that law, why would this one be any different. The media has already convinced the "save the children" crowd that it's "SPEED" that kills.... not cell phones.

[djltoronto]

I wish we could make "common sense" a law.

Cuz I can browse through my iPod (through my deck) while on the 401, going 115 in normal, light traffic.

Please believe that I won't even try doing that in heavy traffic, downtown Toronto.

You just admitted to breaking one law (speeding), who is to say you wouldn't break another (soon to implemented portable device ban)?


After all it's speed that kills - not in-attentive drivers.

[DaFrEnCh-TiCkLeR]

There's a huge misconception on skill and ability here, are most of you able to eat and drive, talk and drive, change the radio and drive...sure, how many cant ?

Thats why they made this law.

Sad to say but I'm pretty sure once they implement this that it will make a difference. You cant tell me that letting people multi task while driving is a good idea, can you do it...yeah, is it a good idea...no.

The law's not there to amper you but protect you. The focus here needs to be on the people who cant multi task, people who already have enough problems that adding one more tool to distract them makes it worst.

Does it make sence that eating a burger is cool but not a phone, maybe not but there needs to be a line in the sand and that's where it's going to be.

It's all fun and games ti'll someone get's hurt. Some laws I'm not for but this one is more then required and long over due.

And for the skill's people and sales people, make it illegal and watch how fast they will be up to date with technology to get a blue tooth.

Hate to say it but this law is more then welcome in my books, last thing I need is another dumb *** cutting me off or hitting me cause he was too busy holding his phone and didnt see me coming down to the road.