On cell in drive-through, driver handed a ticket
Q: I received a ticket under the Highway Traffic Act (HTA) for talking on my cellphone in a fast food drivethrough. I admit I was talking on my phone while my vehicle was in motion but didn’t pick it up until I got onto the restaurant’s property.
The officer says that my vehicle was technically in motion and it is therefore an offence. Can police issue a ticket for such an offence even if it happened on private property? A: Stephen Parker of Pointts (www.pointts.com), a ticket-fighting paralegal firm, replies: Section 78.1 HTA states: “No person shall drive a motor vehicle on a highway while holding or using a hand-held wireless communication device or other prescribed device that is capable of receiving or transmitting telephone communications, electronic data, mail or text messages.”
It would appear then, that it is not an offence to use a cell phone while moving on private property, as long as it was not being used before entering the parking lot or drivethrough and while still on the roadway. Eric Lai adds: In general, if police observe an HTA violation occurring on a public roadway, it doesn’t matter if the motorist makes it onto private property — be it a gas station, restaurant, or your own driveway — before stopping for police. The violator can still be ticketed for the offence that occurred on a public roadway.
Drivers may use a cellphone on private property without fear of a HTA ticket, provided the call starts and ends off the public roads. Common sense dictates that such calls be made while the vehicle is parked, rather than in motion but, unfortunately, you can’t dictate common sense.
If a driver on private property strikes a pedestrian while distracted by their cell-phone, criminal charges, such as dangerous driving, may apply. Q: I own a 2010 Hyundai Genesis. When I use a car wash, water leaks inside from the sunroof.
The dealer can’t find a leak and warned that car washes have high pressures and it is normal to have some leaking. I was told that I should find another place to wash my car.
I don’t know what to do about this. I tried three times to get it sealed while my vehicle is still under warranty, but they are unwilling to do anything about it.
I’d like to ask your opinion on the situation. A: If the sunroof doesn’t leak except when in a high-pressure car wash, it’s not a manufacturing defect, in my opinion.
Most any rubber vehicle seal, be it a sunroof or door seals, will leak if a sufficiently high-pressure water stream is directed at it.
While home pressure washers may produce several hundred pounds per square inch (psi) of water pressure, commercial units may produce several thousand psi.
These devices can even strip paint from metal.
Hence, you’ll see many licence plates with the numbers almost completely faded off after repeated high-pressure car washes. Loose rust may also be knocked off by a high-pressure wash.
I concur with the dealer’s suggestion to avoid “no touch” car washes, which use extreme high-pressure water to clean, and instead look for a soft cloth or hand-wash type car wash for your sunroof-equipped vehicle. Email your non-mechanical questions to Eric Lai at wheels@thestar.ca. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.