TTAS

Ontario motorists, prepare to drop that cellphone, BlackBerry or any other gizmo that keeps your eyes off the road and your hands off the wheel. A new Ontario cellphone law will soon be in effect.
The proposed new Ontario cellphone law to deter drivers from “electronic distractions” is due sometime this fall, according to Ontario Transportation Minister Jim Bradley.

New Ontario cell phone law

The new Ontario cellphone law could range from a complete ban on the use of electronics while driving to measures aimed at toughening Ontario’s existing laws.

What kind of wrist-slapping can we expect with the new Ontario cellphone law? Currently, under existing laws, anyone convicted of driving “without due care and attention” can face fines of up to $1,000 and a prison term of up to six months. Ouch!

The idea behind the “distracted driver” legislation, which will soon incorporate the new Ontario cell phone law, is to reduce potentially fatal traffic accidents in a fast-moving environment where multi-tasking can be hazardous.

New Ontario cell phone law

I will confess at this point that once, due to “multi-tasking” (applying my makeup while driving) I was accused of driving “without due care and attention” in Ontario. So unfair! It was inching along in a traffic jam, not gunning down the highway! I contested it through Bob Kutlesa’s Traffic Ticket Advisory Services in Ottawa and managed to come out unscathed. Justice, YES!

New Ontario cell phone law

So let’s get to the skinny about so-called “distracted driving.” We’re practically always talking or listening to someone or something in the car (the radio, our kids…) and we’ve all briefly taken a hand off the wheel to maybe slip in a CD or sip our coffee. But on the other hand, a heated phone conversation on your hand-held cell will suck your attention and loosen your grip on the wheel for potentially unsafe periods of time.

New Ontario cell phone law

In an ideal world, every new car would be implanted with a hands-free cell phone device right there in the factory. But regardless of how the new Ontario cellphone law plays out, there is only one real rule of thumb and it’s a no-brainer: no matter what you’re doing in your car, keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel.

My cousin Jake was hopping mad because his license and vehicle were removed by police for something he claims he didn’t do, namely stunt driving, which earned him a nice fat Ontario stunt driving ticket.

Jake told me that he and his two kids were pulled over and issued an Ontario stunt driving ticket for traveling more than 50 kilometres over the speed limit, a stunt driving offence defined under Ontario’s new Stunt Driving Law that allows police to issue a stunt driving ticket and seize vehicles without proving the offences.
Jake and his kids found themselves stranded by the side of the highway in possession of an Ontario stunt driving ticket but not their license or vehicle.

“I’m a middle-aged family guy,” he said in exasperation, “not someone who’s out there racing his decrepit old Toyota van with teenage riff-raff. I don’t deserve an Ontario stunt driving ticket!”

Drivers accused of stunt driving have to pay the cost of towing and storing their vehicles for seven days and can end up with stunt driving ticket fines of up to $10,000 in Ontario.
There are eight different Ontario stunt driving ticket violations but the most common are excessive speeding, street racing and even tailgating. All come with an automatic seven-day impound.

Police claim that an Ontario stunt driving ticket is a great deterrent for reducing the incidence of serious injuries and deaths on our highways but the OPP seem to think that handing out a stunt driving ticket in Ontario is the best way to combine enforcement with education.
Is this a fair strategy? Ignorance of the law is no defence for sure, but I think a suitably in-your-face media blitz concerning the new Ontario stunt driving law would be a better solution that surprising not-so-with-it motorists like my cousin Jake with a stunt driving ticket.
But things are looking up for Jake. He apparently contacted the Traffic Ticket Advisory Services, a prominent Ottawa paralegal team, and they’re taking care of everything related to his Ontario stunt driving ticket. The prognosis is very good.
Parting words from Jake: “I got hit with an Ontario stunt driving ticket and suddenly I’m in the same league as street racing punks! Hell, I didn’t even get to enjoy the thrill!”