Ontario reins in handheld devices

Ontario drivers who like to yak and text on handheld cell phones have about six months to cure themselves of the habits.

(Update: The Ontario ban on handheld electronics for drivers went into effect Monday, Oct. 26. This post is about the bill passing.)

The Legislature gave final approval Wednesday to a ban on texting and using handheld devices behind the wheel. Prohibited activities include emailing, watching DVDs, fooling with MP3 players and video gaming.

Drivers may continue to use cell phones if a hands-free device such as a Bluetooth headset
is employed.

“What we’re trying to do is to avoid distractions while people are driving — those distractions being caused, in this case, by electronic devices that are hand-held,” said Transportation Minister Jim Bradle.

Fine would be as much as $500 (CAN). There are no points charged to the license under this law, but drivers who endanger others while using electronic devices could face 6 points and fines up to $1,000.

Premier Dalton McGuinty had opposed the plan, but it gained momentum since introduction last fall. Local media reported that the intent of the handheld device ban is to get the law in place before the onset of winter driving.

The provinces of Quebec, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador all have adopted bans on driving and using electronic devices.

Canadian distracted driving updates

Canada cell phone/texting overview: Distracted driving legislation has been enacted across Canada, with restrictions similar to those being adopted in the United States.

Most Canadian provinces have outlawed use of handheld cell phones and/or text messaging while driving — Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Newfoundland/Labrador.

Here’s an update on the other provinces and territories.

• Alberta’s government has proposed an extensive set of rules that target distracted driving. Debate begins in the fall.
• Prince Edward Island’s ban on the use of handheld electronic devices went into effect Jan. 23, 2010.
• Saskatchewan’s ban on talking and texting on handheld cellphones became law Jan. 1, 2010.
• British Columbia’s bans on handheld cell phone use and text messaging while driving became law Jan. 1, 2010, with fines of $167 beginning Feb. 1.
• Manitoba’s cell phone/texting went into effect July 15.
• The Yukon Territory’s legislators have almost unanimously endorsed creation of a plan to rein in drivers’ use of cell phones and “similar electronic devices.”

Alberta’s lawmakers have set the debate over distracted driving for fall. Bill 16, introduced by MLA Art Johnston, would ban handheld cell phones (hands-free OK) as well as PDAs and other handheld electronic communications devices. Texting would be banned. Also prohibited would be personal grooming, non-commercial use of CB radios, writing, drawing, sketching and use of certain video screens. Fine of $172, no demerits.

“We are sending a strong safety message to all Albertans: When you’re in your vehicle, your focus must be on driving,” said Luke Ouellette, the transportation minister. Ouellette gave signals the day after the introduction that enforcement might be secondary if the law is approved — meaning police need another reason to pull over drivers before issuing a citation.

Alberta had been criticized by safety groups and some legislators for dragging its feet on distracted driving legislation. Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach said in December 2009 that he wanted to see the effects of texting bans in other provinces before acting. He cited a “busy agenda” as the reason it was not addressed that year. Calgary Police Chief Rick Hanson says distracted driving legislation is overdue.

The Alberta Motor Association says its poll of province drivers indicated 75 percent were in favor of Bill 16, the distracted driving legislation to be debated in the fall. Almost 70 percent backed limits on the use of all cell phones, including hands-free.

Edmonton city councilor Dave Thiele is lobbying for Alberta to ban all cell phone use by motorists. “I would encourage Transportation Minister Luke Ouellette to amend the bill to include hands-free devices in the bill,” he wrote in an op-ed piece.

Strathcona County’s ban on texting and handheld cell phone use while driving began Sept. 1, 2009. The county bylaw is the first in Alberta. The activities are outlawed on country roads, not those policed by the province. Fines run from $100 to $200. The ban on text messaging and handheld cell phone use was approved in May. Alberta’s government is developing similar legislation. (Strathcona County is east of Edmonton, with a population of more than 80,000.)

Ontario Provincial Police wrote almost 3,800 distracted driving tickets in the five-month period between February 2010 (when active enforcement began) and July. OPP said tickets were down from May (778) to June (496). The numbers did not include municipal police, Toronto’s Metro reported. The ban became law in October 2009. Fines of $125CAN (typical) didn’t kick in until Feb. 1.

In Ottawa, Ontario’s ban on drivers’ use of handheld electronic devices such as cell phones and PDAs led to almost 2,000 citations so far in 2010, the Police Service reported in mid-August.

Total ban on cell phones: The Canadian Automobile Association is convinced that driving while using a hands-free cell phone is no safer than driving with a handheld cell phone. It’s pushing the provincial governments to expand their bans. The group says Nova Scotia is reconsidering its law and it hopes to sway New Brunswick as it writes its driving and cell phones law.

The British Columbia Automobile Association says handheld cell phone use has been greatly reduced in the six months since the province’s ban went into effect. But plenty of drivers say they still see others using mobile phones. The BCAA polled users of its web site and e-newsletter in June and July 2010, with only 6 percent of the respondents saying they continue to use handheld cell phones while driving. But 77 percent of those surveyed said they saw other drivers yakking and driving at least once a week. Based on the responses, “it is particularly encouraging to see the significant number of drivers who either pull off the road to make or take a call, or are no longer using a phone at all,” a BCAA spokesman said.

Cell phone poll: Canadians remain split over the need to outlaw cell phone use while driving, with about half of those polled supporting outright bans. Forty-two percent were opposed. A clear majority (67%) told pollsters that drivers wouldn’t obey cell phone bans, while half said police wouldn’t enforce the laws anyway. Older respondents (58%) wanted bans on all types of cell phone use by drivers, while younger people generally were not supportive (28%). The poll of 1,007 adults was taken online in late October 2009 by TNS Canadian Facts.

Saskatchewan’s ban on text messaging and use of handheld cell phones took effect Jan. 1, 2010. June Draude, minister for Saskatchewan Government Insurance, introduced the legislation Nov. 12 and it passed a final reading on Nov. 25. New drivers also will be prohibited from any cell phone use. Violators are to be fined $280 and will receive four demerit points.

British Columbia’s texting and handheld cell phone bans resulted in 715 tickets in the first two months of enforcement. The bans went into effect Jan. 1, 2010, but there was a month’s warning period. Tickets cost $167. Up to three points could be assessed against a text-messaging or emailing driver.

Prince Edward Island’s law against driving while using handheld electronic devices went into effect Jan. 23, 2010. Fines range from $250 to $400 plus 3 points against license.

New Brunswick appears to be the only province not dealing with distracted driving. New Brunswick reportedly is monitoring the success of cell phone and texting bans in other provinces. The CBC quoted a city councilor, David Kelly of Fredericton, as asking: “What is it gonna take? “Is it gonna take a certain ration of accidents? What do we have to do here in New Brunswick? What else is it gonna take for us to go that next step?”

Moncton, a city in New Brunswick, banned cell phone use and text messaging for all of its employees. The ban begins April 1, 2010, a month after approval. Councillor Pierre Boudreau said the city was setting an example for the province.

Before adopting its cell phone/text messaging bans, the British Columbia government had asked the public to fill out a distracted driving study that came with seven questions regarding the issue of cell phoning and text messaging.

About 25 percent of traffic accidents in British Columbia are linked to distracted driving behaviors such as use of cell phones, the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles said in June 2009. The distractions lead to 117 deaths per year, the OSMV report says. Drivers were equally distracted by handheld cell phones and cell phones with hands-free devices attached, said the report, which was actually a “review of distracted driving research.”

The Yukon’s MLAs voted Dec. 2, 2009, in favor of developing laws that would restrict use of cell phones and similar devices. Only one MLA objected. Liberal MLA Darius Elias, who introduced a similar plan in October, told the lawmakers: “I don’t want the Yukon to be the last jurisdiction in Canada to protect its citizens in this way.”

Manitoba’s ban on drivers’ use of hand-held cell phones and texting devices goes into effect July 15, 2010. The fine would be $191, the transportation ministry said. A public education campaign began in September 2009.

The British Columbia Association of Chiefs of Police adopted a resolution calling for a ban on handheld cell phone use while driving.

“The data and evidence is overwhelming that people are more likely to be involved in an accident while on a cellphone when they are driving,” said the president of the BCACP, Supt. Bill McKinnon. The vote came on June 17, 2009.

A Saskatchewan poll taken in September 2009 indicated that 60 percent of residents “strongly support” bans on cell phone use and text messaging by drivers. … Saskatoon’s police chief has called for cell phoning and texting to be outlawed for motorists.

The Ontario Medical Association had pushed for a ban on cell phone use in Canada while operating a vehicle, saying it is clear that any activity such as dialing, typing or reading a text message is unsafe for drivers and those around them.

The market research company Angus Reid says 88 percent of Canadians surveyed were supportive of a ban on use of hand-held cell phones by drivers. 77 percent said this prohibition would make the country’s roads and highways much safer.

Respondents in Atlantic Canada (94%) and Quebec (90%) hold the highest level of support for the cell phone ban, along with women (89%), Canadians over the age of 55 (92%) and university graduates (89%), Angus Reid said.

Ontario’s legislature voted unanimously on April 22, 2009, to ban motorists from text messaging, using handheld cell phones and other electronic devices connected with distracted driving. It went into effect Oct. 26. A previous plan to prohibit Ontario motorists from using cell phones without hands-free devices was shot down in October 2008.

Editorials, opinion:
Alberta: “For some reason — some suggest it’s fear of sliding further down the political popularity poll — the Stelmach government keeps dangling the carrot (of distracted driving laws), and then yanking it away. … Alberta … is set to become Canada’s traffic-safety donkey once again.” Michael Platt in the Calgary Sun (Jan. 19, 2010)

“The (Prince Edward Island) government is apparently ready to reintroduce legislation calling for a ban on talking and texting on hand-held cellphones while driving. It’s about time. … The sooner the province can introduce legislation, the sooner it can be passed and brought into law. Let’s just get it done. Motorists who like their phones may grumble at first, but surely they will adjust.” — The Guardian (Sept. 18, 2009)

Canadian docs want cell phone crackdown

With or without a hands-free device, motorists are at a significantly greater risk of getting into a serious accident when they use a cell phone and drive, a new study says.

The Ontario Medical Association called on its provincial government to enact laws reducing the cell phone dangers. The Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, and Nova Scotia have banned the use of hand-held cell phones.

“Doctors know all too well the consequences of driving while distracted,” OMA president Ken Arnold said.

The group stated: “The OMA has found evidence that cell phone use (regardless of whether it is hands-free or hand-held) has a significant impact on the driver’s cognitive functions, visual concentration, the speed at which they can process information and, as a result, their reaction time.”

The research found that using a cell phone while driving:

• Greatly reduced the driver’s functional field of view
• Changed average driving speed
• Decreased the “safe distance” between vehicles
• Slowed brake reaction time
• Slowed response times to traffic light changes
• Resulted in a 15% increase in non-response to stoplights
• Reduced visual monitoring of mirrors and instruments
• Resulted in fewer inspection glances at traffic lights
• Produced an increased tendency toward hard braking.

The OMA noted it is clear that any activity such as dialing, typing or reading a text message is unsafe for drivers and those around them.

Opponents of cell phone legislation no doubt will point out that this was a “review of literature,” not new research. (Regardless, the OMA story has been getting good play in newspapers and online.)

So why weigh in?

“We believe it is the role of physicians to investigate the health impacts of societal activities, such as driving while using your phone, and to report these publicly,” the OMA said. “Sometimes the evidence is conclusive enough to require physicians to challenge the status quo and champion the health and safety of their patients by calling for legislative action.”

In August 2008, the Alberta Medical Association endorsed a bill that would ban hand-held cell phone use while driving.

The medical association voiced its support before a legislative committee reviewing Bill 204, the Traffic Safety Amendment Act. The Alberta doctors called for outlawing use of hands-free cell phones as well.

That private member’s bill from Calgary Tory MLA Art Johnston was killed by the committee in early October. The panel instead urged remedies that include all major driving distractions.

“I personally think the biggest distraction is a cellphone, and text messaging,” Johnston told the Calgary Herald. “We still have people very, very divided on it, but I believe in it and I’m going to do the best I can until it’s (legislated).”

On Oct. 4, Alberta Tories rejected two resolutions restricting the use of cell phones and other wireless devices while driving. One would have banned all cell phone use by motorists while the other targeted only hand-held cell phones. Premier Ed Stelmach is opposed to cell phone bans, citing the usual array of distracted driving hazards beyond making calls.

The maritime province of Prince Edward Island is debating an islandwide ban on hand-held cell phone use while driving. Transportation and Public Works Minister Ron MacKinley has prepared legislation that also seeks to outlaw text messaging and a variety of other electronic distractions, including use of pagers and iPods.