10/30/2009
By: Shaun de Jager

Earlier this year, Ontario passed a law banning the use of virtually all hand-held devices while driving. The law finally took effect on October 26th but for the first three months, offenders will only receive warnings until February 1st, 2010, at which point offenders can expect a $500 fine. Ontario joins three other provinces including Newfoundland & Labrador, Quebec and Nova Scotia. Manitoba is expected to follow suit soon. By enacting such a law, it would appear that on the surface, the government is being proactive about implementing laws in an attempt to make our roads safer.

I can’t help to wonder how much safer will Ontario roads will really be? It seems to me that although this law will save face with many concerned voters about the use of cell phones while driving, it may only be another knee-jerk reaction by the government and serve as a handy cash grab at the same time.

Now, before everyone starts swamping me with emails saying “of course this is a good law”, it’s important to note that Ontario will be the only province to not be applying a point penalty against offenders’ licenses. Additionally, fines will also be the highest in the country. When Quebec enacted a similar law, the fine was set at $450 and came with a point penalty against the offender’s license. This means that if a person incurs enough penalties (for whatever reason), they would be considered a proven danger on the road and have their license revoked for a period of time. With the way the Ontario law is written, it will have no impact on those who pose a history of dangerous driving practices. Quebec also issued over 4.5million dollars in fines in a 10 month period…did Ontario just find another economic bailout?

Let’s take the economic benefits to the government out of the equation and consider the actual cause and effect that everyone is looking for with laws like this one. There is no doubt that talking on cell phones is dangerous. Not only is this a perceived danger in the eyes of most people but it’s also been statistically proven to be truth. Many studies have been done, especially in Europe, showing that talking on a cell phone reduces a driver’s judgment, sense of awareness and reaction times. Many real-world testing have shown that talking on a phone while driving actually impairs a driver’s judgment much more than having a blood alcohol level of 0.08%, which is considered legally impaired.

Many will argue that they don’t see a difference between talking on a cell phone and talking to a passenger in the vehicle. But what they don’t realize is that a passenger also has a sense of situational awareness to what the driver is doing that the person on the other end of the phone call doesn’t have. They naturally stop talking when needed so that the driver can focus on the road. The key here is, that it’s been shown that a driver cannot consciously decide what to apply more brainpower too…the conversation or the road. When talking on the phone, a large part of a driver’s attention is focused on what the person on the other end of the phone is saying. A passenger instinctively stops talking when needed and the driver’s brain instantly applies all their attention to the task of driving again. It’s quite amazing how our brain divides our attention in an attempt to multitask without our conscience input.

So are we safer with the new law? Dream on. This new law is actually considered an “anti-hand held device” law, which also bans checking and sending emails with your cell phone and bans the use of MP3 players, DVD units and pretty much everything that involves you holding an electronic device to use. However, GPS units are ok but only if properly mounted on dashboards or windshields.

Yes, this covers a wide range of devices and their use but does that really absolve us from in-car distractions? Not even close, especially when drivers are now being encouraged to use hands-free kits for their phones so that they can still carry on conversations. Wait a minute…shouldn’t the point of this law also address the whole concept of talking on a phone?

Unfortunately, it totally misses the mark in that regard. What’s being ignored is that those same UK studies that many people are referring too for statistics also clearly indicate that using a hands-free kit vs. not using one, makes no improvement to a drivers judgment, reflexes or situational awareness. They are still as mentally impaired as being legally drunk. Just because you are freeing up a drivers’ hands, doesn’t mean you are freeing their mind. I’m sure Matrix fans are snickering a little but there is a parody that can be drawn here much like taking the blue pill vs. the red one. Do we really want to know the truth about in-car distractions or would we rather remain ignorant and just sit back believing that the “powers that be” (in this case our government) have everything in hand and that they are taking care of us?

Let’s be honest though. The drivers who realize that using a cell phone is dangerous already (hands-free or not) abstain from doing so. Those who don’t will continue to do so until they are caught but even then it will likely not stop them from doing it again (much like speeding). Offenders may change their habits for a while but will eventually offend again. Of course anyone who can afford a cell phone, can also afford a simple hands-free earphone kit but this still doesn’t address the bigger issue…in-car distractions…period.

Where do we draw the line though? First hand-held devices and then what? Reading a newspaper? Sure. Painting your finger nails? Sure. Applying make-up or shaving? Sure.

Why stop there? What about changing the radio station or talking in the car at all? What about banning children from cars because they are often a distraction and source of stress to a driver? Am I getting carried away? I’m sure you get my drift.

What about taking a different approach? What about educating drivers about the dangers of in-car distractions of any kind? What about teaching drivers to realize that the most important thing while driving a car should be…driving the car? Of course education programs like that cost a lot of money and don’t make any. Passing laws like this one does make money and provides a false sense of security in that our roads will be safer as a result.

We can’t ban every in-car distraction and only the most ignorant will believe that this law will make our roads significantly safer.

In the end, it really comes down to each of us to make a choice. Either you choose to drive safe and avoid in-car distractions or you choose not too and risk a collision.

Safer roads start with safer drivers, so please…pay attention and drive safe.

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