[hugh]

Almost nine out of ten Canadians drivers (86%) do not approve of people using a cell phone when driving yet more than half (52%) of them who have cell phones admit to using them while behind the wheel according to a recent RBC Insurance/Ipsos Reid survey.

Interesting!

 

[Wharfe]

Interesting for sure.. certainly raises some good points.

I actually live in Newfoundland where they have banned the use of cell phones while driving.. Let's just say there's no point having a law if it's not going to be enforced.. I personally use speakerphone if I have to talk while driving, but you can't even drive down the street without seeing someone talk on a cell phone while they are driving.. there are some pretty bad drivers around here anyway (maybe it's like that everywhere..) so I'm not surprised.

 

[CanuckBlue]

I cannot believe the use of cellphones while driving has not been banned everywhere and enforced. It amazes me the stupid things people do while they are driving and talking and they are completely oblivious to anything going on around them.

 

[i hate tv]

Some people can't handle multi tasking...
I have seen people on their hands free headset, with both hands off the wheel, emphasizing their point to the person on the other end of the phone, drifting from side to side in their lane...
I am guilty of talking on the phone while driving, but I consider myself an above average driver!

 

[Beck123]

The reason it hasn't been banned here in Ontario is because there is no clear-cut place to draw the line. Is talking on your cell phone more dangerous than reaching for your coffee? I've seen people eating Big Macs while driving. That's gotta be worse! Are we going to ban eating, drinking (non-alcoholic drinks before any smart people jump on me), reading a map, or checking your GPS? People would be outraged if this happened, but I think they have the same 'danger' factor. It's not illegal for me to open my quarter pounder box while balancing my super-sized diet coke on my lap, but if it causes an accident I could be criminally charged. I think that rule should apply for cell phones as well...but don't ban it.

 

[Ri99]

I saw a guy shaving while driving.

 

[jaazzman]

While in theory I agree with this law, where do you draw the line? What about changing CD's while driving? Drinking coffee? Looking at a map? Turning around to yell at the kids etc etc...

As someone who's been using a cell phone since the "brick" days with zero issue, I have some problems being told that I can't use the phone since I'm being "unsafe" yet its "ok" for someone to drive 100 while reading a map.

The police should simply be giving tickets to those that are doing something deemed "unsafe" behind the wheel, whether its using a cell phone or any of the examples listed above. Simply saying you cant use a phone but having no rules around other activities in the car doesnt make a whole lot of sense to me.

 

[hugh]

While in theory I agree with this law, where do you draw the line? What about changing CD's while driving? Drinking coffee? Looking at a map? Turning around to yell at the kids etc etc...

I agree its a slippery slope but its proven to be dangerous so lets ban it and then worry about all the rest.

 

[douggyd]

Are you serious or being sacrastic? It's like saying shoot first, ask questions later. I think it is a proven fact that if you're driving over 100 while drinking a coffee, combing your hair and playing with the radio is dangerous, but it isn't banned, so why ban cell phone use. As others have said, cell phone use is already banned in several provinces, but the bans are not enforced!

 

[jaazzman]

I'd like to see some hard numbers for accidents caused due to cell phone use while driving. You always see, drinking may have been a factor, speed may have been a factor, but you never see (that I can remember...), the driver may have been on a phone.

 

[hugh]

It's like saying shoot first, ask questions later.

No it isn't. Its nothing like that. All those other things are non-sequitars.

 

[basstoy]

What about the cops I see all the time on the phone in there cop cars at red lights and fiddeling with the computer while driving.,,, I STILL see it all the time,,, heck they probably have to.. cuse all the peeps out there with all the scanners(I included) can hear them when they talk on the 2 way....who gives them fines.... I still havent seen a cop with a BT in the ear yet... and in Mascouche(montreal suburb) cops are everywhere