Ontario passed new laws
about distracted driving in January 2019 to provide better protection for both
drivers and pedestrians. The new laws carry expensive fines and severe
punishment for those caught for distracted driving in Ontario.
What is Distracted Driving?
According to the new law,
distracted driving is more than just prohibiting cell phone use and texting
while behind the wheel. New rules define distracted driving in Ontario as the
use of any electronic device while driving and also includes drinking and
eating while driving. Prohibited electronic devices include GPS units, pagers
and cell phones. By this definition, checking your messages and trying to drink
your morning coffee while driving to work in the morning now counts as
distracted driving.
Types of Distracted Driving
Traditionally, there are 4
categories of distractions that cause distracted driving. These are visual,
manual, cognitive, and auditory.
- Auditory distracted driving is when you drive with impaired hearing (either due to headphones or blasting loud music), preventing you from hearing sirens, warning sounds, and the like.
- Cognitive distracted driving is when your brain is multi-tasking and too overwhelmed to efficiently concentrate on the road. Examples are carrying with a phone call, eating while driving, and the like.
- Manual distracted driving is when something causes you to take your hands off the wheel such as drinking, putting on makeup, trying to eat, responding to text, etc while driving.
- Visual distracted driving is when the driver is prevented from fully looking at the road or checking the side and rear mirror by any other stimuli such as looking at the phone or the GPS.
Penalties for Distracted Driving
The penalties for
distracted driving include fines, license suspension, and marring your driving
record. Although the fines and punishments are not immediately enforceable
right after you’ve been pulled over, it is still best to avoid being caught by
adhering to the new laws or you’ll have to defend yourself with the help of a
seasoned defence lawyer.
If you’ve been charged for
distracted driving, be sure to contact Calvin Barry as soon as possible. With a long career as a DUI lawyer in Ontario who also handles traffic-related
cases, you can count on having a good distracted driving defence with Calvin Barry.
