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Ontario’s ban of cellphone use while driving in effect October 26th

By on September 30, 2009 at 11:11am in Asides, Mobile News, Various News

Ontario bans with cellphone use while drivingThose wondering when the Ontario government will put Bill 118, “Countering Distracted Driving and Promoting Green Transportation Act” into effect can wonder no more.

Effective Monday, October 26th, 2009 if you’re driving in Ontario the ban of using handheld devices such as cellphones, BlackBerry devices etc are prohibited. Studies have shown that 90% of drivers approve the ban, while 69% believe that the government should also ban eating.

That got you worried? There will be some grace time as ticketing officially begins February 1st… if you are caught talking, texting or e-mailing while driving you can be fined up to $500. The good news about getting a ticket is that there will be no demerit points deducted.

Excluded from this law are Emergency services workers such as police, paramedics and firefighters. Transportation Minister Jim Bradley said “It is not safe to be texting, emailing or dialing a phone when you are driving a vehicle. Now it is also illegal.”

Related posts:

  1. B.C. to pass law that limits cellphone use while driving
  2. Ontario to ban use of cellphone while driving?
  3. Quebec to implement full cellphone ban while driving? “Your attention is not on the road. It is on the conversation”
  4. Comic: “I’m Txtng while Driving”

Discussion

4 comments for “Ontario’s ban of cellphone use while driving in effect October 26th”

  1. there needs to be more clarity on this bill…..

    i am to understand that it’s still ok to use handsfree devices, but what about dialing phone numbers? if i dial a number, but talk on speaker, am i breaking the law by dialing? how is this different from changing a cd on my stereo?

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    Posted by james | September 30, 2009, 1:40 pm
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  2. Here in Quebec, we still can use bluetooth headset, probably not for long, is it the case in Ontario?
    Because if they continue the create law at this rate, it will be illegal to talk to the passenger.

    I agree with the ban of use the handset properly, but the use of voice dialing, bluetooth headset and all the accessories that permit us to keep our hand on the driver wheel, I think that’s to far.

    With all that said, I can say than I’m a lot more aware, and very less tempted by sleep when I talk to somebody (on cell. or passenger). I don’t know if I’m the only one?

    P.S. Sorry for my english and if some sentence don’t make sense in english.

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    Posted by Sebastien Grenier | September 30, 2009, 7:07 pm
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  3. “how is this different from changing a cd on my stereo?”

    When your dialing a number, where are you looking, @ your phone pad, majority if not all of us know where our next button is on our cd player… and you can dial the number on speaker but you CANNOT hold the phone or PDA.

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    Posted by Dave W | October 6, 2009, 4:46 pm
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  4. The Ban is on using ‘hand held’ devices. We can still use our Cell phones. What gets me is that I travel through Ontario all the time as I’m a truck driver and now they have signs saying you can’t eat or drink while you drive. Mean while the government limits the time we have to work. So if they wish to enforce this I wish everyone well because if truck drivers have to stop everytime they want a coffee or a sandwich, the cost of all your goods will go up big time. Just imagine paying $5/liter for gas. Think I’m exaggerating? Just look at the economics of the situation.

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    Posted by Roger McIntosh | March 11, 2011, 9:07 am
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