Ontario cell ban to take effect in fall
Ontario drivers will be banned from using hand-held cellphones and other devices as early as this fall, as the province’s new distracted driving legislation passed third reading on April 22, 2009. Drivers will face fines of up to $500 if they are caught texting, dialling or chatting on a hand-held device. Hands-free devices will still be permitted.
Emergency calls, such as calls to 911, will not be affected, the province’s Ministry of Transportation notes in a news release. Transport Canada estimates that driver distraction is a contributing factor in about 20% of all collisions.
Once supporting regulations are developed, the new law could be in effect as early as this fall, the Ministry says. It notes that Ontario joins more than 50 countries in the world with similar laws, along with North American jurisdictions including Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, California and New York.
Once the law takes effect, drivers who text, type, email, dial or chat using a prohibited hand-held device could be fined up to $500. Drivers will not be able to use these devices while stopped in traffic or at a red light, only while safely pulled off the roadway. Police, fire department and emergency medical services personnel are exempt from the act. The Ministry is considering addition exemptions for commercial drivers.
Still permitted will be cellphones with earpieces or headsets using voice dialling or plugged into the vehicle’s sound system, a global positioning system secured to the dashboard and a portable media player plugged into the sound system.
For more information on the act, see the MTO’s website