Distracted driving 101: What’s legal and what isn’t
This week, police in Ottawa began a crackdown on so-called distracted driving. On Tuesday alone, a combined Ottawa police, Ontario Provincial Police and RCMP operation handed out 171 tickets, and many more were issued on Wednesday and Thursday during a two-hour blitz at intersections across the city.
Beginning next Tuesday, the minimum fine in Ontario for drivers caught using electronic devices rises from $280 to $490. Additionally, motorists will lose three demerit points on their licences. Get caught three times, and you’ll soon find yourself with a suspended driver’s licence.
According to Ottawa police Sgt. Mark Gatien, one driver caught using his cellphone told police he couldn’t be fined. “Why?’ the officer asked. “Because I just got a ticket for the same thing 10 minutes ago.”
Police admit there are grey areas in the law when it comes to using cellphones and other popular devices such as MP3 players while behind the wheel — even at a red light. Gatien explained the line between legal and illegal.
Q What is distracted driving?
A Distracted driving is anything that distracts the driver from the road. “I’ve seen people drinking a coffee with one hand and eating a muffin with another one and they’re driving with their knee,” Gatien says. “That’s distracted driving because your concentration isn’t on the road.” However, distracted driving isn’t a charge — that’s just a term used to describe when someone is breaking the law in a way that distracts them from the road, for example, eating with both hands or texting.
Q What’s in the law?
A Based on Reg. 366/09 of the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, drivers can only use a cellphone or entertainment device in a hands-free mode. “That’s means that as soon as the device goes into your hands, you’ve committed the offence,” Gatien explains. Drivers have the option to pull off the road, park in a lawful way not impeding traffic, and turn their cars off before touching their devices. The only exception to the hands-free rule is when the device is being used to contact emergency services, such as police, ambulance, or the fire department.
Q What’s illegal?
A “Not only is it illegal to use your device, but it’s also illegal to take it into your hands, whether it’s a phone or an MP3 player,” Gatien says. Since the law is hand-specific, having the device in your lap is OK, but looking down at it is illegal. “If the device is in your lap, it’s a grey area. You haven’t committed an offence by having it on your lap, but as soon as you look down at it, you’ve taken your eyes off the road and you’ve committed an offence.”
Q What’s legal?
A Mounting a cellphone on your dashboard around eye level and using it on speakerphone is legal. You can even press it once to answer a call and one more time to hang up, because similarly to a GPS, your eyes are still somewhat on the road. Gatien recommends mounting the device to the driver’s left side rather than the middle of the windshield. “If the phone is in your lap and you press the button to answer or end a call isn’t illegal, but as soon as you look down you’ve committed the offence. So the offence is taking your eyes off the road to look down.”
Q What are my best options?
A Bluetooth is the best hands-free option, but it isn’t very popular with younger drivers. Alternatively, drivers can mount their phones on their dash and use it on speakerphone. Earphones are another grey area; technically they’re legal, but they block the outside world out. If a driver is going to use earphones with the built-in microphone, Gaiten prefers he or she uses only one ear bud.
Q What are the most common misunderstandings?
A People have a huge misconception when it comes to entertainment devices. “They think they can pick up their MP3 player, for example, because it’s not a phone. But they can’t! It’s just as illegal as picking your phone up,” says Gatien. “Another one is people thinking they can text or even touch their phones when they stopped at a red light, but they can’t.” Drivers must pull over and park lawfully before calling.
Q How bad is the situation?
A “During a blitz yesterday, we ticketed one person during every single light cycle at an intersection. That’s how bad it is,” Gatien said. For the first time this year, distracted driving overtook impaired driving as the No. 1 cause of crashes, sparking the Ottawa and provincial police Leave the Phone Alone joint campaign. “The problem isn’t going to fully go away, but hopefully an instant $490 fine and three demerit points will make people think twice about touching their devices while driving.”