Banning cell phones & GPS in cars ??

[BillM]

Lets also ban reading newspapers, women doing makeup (I see this ALL the time), eating breakfast (I also see people eating bowls of cereal on a regular occasion)..

[Rich]

Lets also ban reading newspapers, women doing makeup (I see this ALL the time), eating breakfast (I also see people eating bowls of cereal on a regular occasion)..

 

That's called reckless driving.

[BillM]

That's called reckless driving.

 

I doubt anyone getting caught doing the above would be charged with reckless (Although they should)

[CLofchik]

Buddy didn't have his phone long before he wrote off a car, I'd like to see them gone because I ride a vintage motorcycle and need all the help I can get ( by the way an extended left arm is a left turn signal, it does not mean pass me.).....

 

Lol good one

If everybody wants to know why this ban is coming in, just ride a bike around the GTA for a week.

Unfortunately it's enforcement no doubt will be very spotty and treated as a cash cow like every other moving violation. Fail the attitude test or a cop is low on his quota you get charged because the phone is within reach of the driver.

 

I could go on a rant...but i wont...i think its great they are goin to ban cell phones in cars...been like that in England for years. Dunno about GPS though, one problem that did arise in England with the use of GPS was that big semi trucks would get stuck in tiny villages with no suitable roads for them...lol...

 

Happens here all the time.....Forks Of The Credit there's been about half a dozen trucks get stuck because they were routed through there.

 

 

You can see where the guardrail was taken out by the last truck to get stuck there.........no wonder taxes in Peel are so high!

[John]

I started reading this thread yesterday, however waited until today to add my 0.02. I wanted to pay particular attention to my morning commute and what was going on in the other vehicles hurtling along the highway. Observations were less than scientific, but interesting, (and frightening), all the same. I usually travel between 100-120km/hr. A large percentage of these passed me not only in the outside lane, but also on the inside lane.

 

Distractions included typical cell phone usage, applying various forms of makeup, newspaper reading, eating what looked like a bowl of cereal, having animated conversation with other occupants of the vehicle, wearing headphones, (I can only assuming listening to music), and these last 3, which if they hadn't been so downright scary, would make the top 10 of anyone's list....

 

One woman with a cigarette in one hand, a cell phone in the other and a map across the dashboard.

 

One guy with a bluetooth headset on having a very animated conversation with a timmies in his left hand and some kind of

breakfast in the other!

 

A late teens (guess) girl with a cigarette in her mouth, cell phone resting against the steering wheel with thumbs goings like crazy text messaging someone, timmies cup, presumably full on the top of the dashboard, with, get this, "God loves me", on a sticker on her trunk.........she may get to meet him sooner rather than later.

 

Banning hand held cellphones is not the answer. Anyone can have a hands free cellphone relatively cheaply these days and mount their phone on a pedestal or on the dash, but how are they going to stop the text messages, dialing and web surfing??????????? Although I have mixed feelings about it, the only way is to ban usage by the driver under all circumstances when moving. The problem then becomes usage by passengers who are a third party in the conversation.............not sure that one is any less distracting either.

 

GPS usage is another story. It would be next to impossible to enforce. I'm not sure that a GPS giving prompts as to where to turn is any less distracting than listening to the radio.......and probably much less so than a driver with headphones on listening to whatever....

 

I will be watching the first court challenge with interest.

[POLLIWOGG]

Well I was wrong about the video being illegal, its TV receivers that are illegal but you can bet that when they update the law any video screen visible to the driver will go.

 

We had a girl go through the cedars about 8' off the ground when she abandoned the wheel to root through the glove box for smokes, maybe she shouldn't have a cell or gps.

 

If 90% of drivers were good drivers it wouldn't be a problem but I think the scale tips the other way.

[fishing n autograph]

Is he planning on banning the laptops in police cars also then?

 

OR Ambulances, OR Firetrucks.....

 

Technically ally screens such as GPS, DVD players etc in the front of the car are against the Highway Traffic Act...taking away the MDT in a police car is like getting rid of our radio....integral tool.

 

Geez...and why do people think we have quotas....we don't, and if you get a ticket then you most likely deserved it. and no reckless driving charge...that's american. It's careless in Ontario

 

I'm not sayin that the system is perfect, but there's reasoning behind all the madness. Remember, seatbelts used to be optional and now we know that seatbelts save lives. What the problem is...is when people get to court. Nothing sticks anymore. I recently picked up someone on Impaired driving who was already charged with it and waiting for sentencing.....and what did he get??? Pled to careless, $600 fine and a suspended licence for 6 months...where's the justice? This is why it's frustrating, but we have to work with what we have

Edited October 27, 2008 by FishnNAutographs

[kemper]

Geez...and why do people think we have quotas....we don't, and if you get a ticket then you most likely deserved it. and no reckless driving charge...that's american. It's careless in Ontario

 

 

Im not sure why people struggle so much with this concept.

 

If you were going 75 in a 60 you were speeding.

"but the guy behind me was going faster!"

 

sorry, its not about the guy behind you, if you were speeding than you were speeding and thats that.

 

Also, being a 18 year old male I have been in the car with many less than competent drivers. Some of my friends I actually WILL NOT get in the car with. Just last night I had some friends in the car and my friend (female - 17) was driving behind me. It was raining and she was (attempting) to drive a standard. Every stop was followed with either a stall out or a huge wheelspinning dump clutch start, and the corners were like mario was driving (poorly). The entire time I felt like I was going to be rear ended.

 

Heres a tip, if your kid cant drive...DONT ALLOW THEM TO!

 

also, if you teach your kid to drive standard...make sure they can actually get the car to move before you send them out into the world.

[Wild]

Hand held GPS will be banned along with hand held cell phones. Dash or window mount GPS will remain legal. I would still wait a bit Lew as the sales should be starting up soon.

[Gerritt]

Most new OEM systems do not allow the unit to be fiddled with while the car is in motion.. This is a great built in safety feature.. as for the guys with Cell phones, XM radios, GPS Systems and in dash DVD's players in their face when they are driving.. how can you honestly say they are not distracted?

 

Dont even get me started on the chicks doing their make-up in the rearview mirror @ 120km/h

 

G

[bucktail]

I got yelled at by a NY State Trooper the other week at a Bills game for talking on my phone.

I answered my phone when it rang as it was my buddie in the traffic jam ahead of us.

He screamed at me "theres no using cell phones and driving in NY State".

I almost said something back as we were in the traffic jam and hadnt moved in over 10 minutes and he was directing traffic.!~!Don't you have to be moving to be driving???

Oh well even cops dont have common sense at times I guess.

[fishing n autograph]

yeah, coppers in the US have no sense of humour...no professional courtesy either lol..... tried talking to Erie County's finest and they needed a proctologist to lose their attitude lol

 

It's funny with all the rules in the HTA, car manufacturers push the limits with EVERYTHING. The navigation systems mounted in the dashboards can lead people to a $110 fine....same with "factory" tints...a lot of them are too dark too.... I think both th Manu's and drivers should be responsible. But all in all, the proposed cell phone laws are for safety. It's the same thing with seat belts. It drives me crazy when I see people driving with no seat belt. It's just common knowledge.

[BillM]

Driving without a seatbelt isn't just common knowledge, I feel really weird not being strapped in, lol

[fishing n autograph]

sorry i meant it's common knowledge, get in your car, turn on the engine, put your seatbelt on then drive away

[fishing n autograph]

.......people won't learn lol

Edited October 28, 2008 by FishnNAutographs

[Flappn]

As usual with Society...the people who are capable lose out to the people who are not capable. We have become an uptight, tight ass no fun society and it sucks.

[Wild]

Yeah we see those those window tints quite a bit on the road still which is a safety issue especially for cops.

 

Speaking of seatbelts look at our school buses and explain to us again how our government is concerned about safety issues.

[fishing n autograph]

yeah, i agree, if planes have seatbelts...why don't school and coach buses?

[fishing n autograph]

As usual with Society...the people who are capable lose out to the people who are not capable. We have become an uptight, tight ass no fun society and it sucks.

 

true....but when you see how many collisions are caused by morons not paying attention while talking on the phone or how far people are thrown through a windshield when not wearing a seatbelt it's easier to understand. But it is what it is....

[Flappn]

I don't disagree with Seat Belts.......however anything being banned by the Government bothers me. It builds momentum for them to stuff what

ever rules they want down our throats. If it was a public poll and we could all vote and the majority won...I am ok with it. I don't however like the

Iron fist running my life.

 

my opinion...it could be wrong.

[bigugli]

Odds are a ban on cell use will be difficult to physically enforce. Same with drinking or seatbelts. You will eventually get 80-85% voluntary compliance.

Your vehicle insurance is only valid while you are complying with the law. So if you have an accident while breaking the law, your insurance is null and void. Its a standard clause in almost every policy. We comply because we have something at stake to lose. We have families, homes and careers. Things that matter personally. How much would you lose if your insurance did not cover an accident?

That portion that doesn't comply do not understand personal consequence. Young, single, no ties, money to burn, egocentric, don't care. Whatever the excuse you pick, that is the portion the police have to target, and most will slip through the net. No different than DUI's, or highway racers doing 180+, or the thousands that drive our highways without insurance .

[BUSTER]

I drove past a city cop this morn talking on his cell phone????? and who's enforcing this law? what about truck driver CB RADIO not to mention the cops driving around staring at their laptop attached to the front friken seat??? i have my camera sitting here on the seat ready to take pics of the next one i see!!!! oh ya what about union gas , city, hydro,bell all driving around with laptops on the front seat...iam one of them by the way..and ill continue to use my laptop while working untill the cops stop and the trucker stop using cb's while driving.....thats my rant!

[fishing n autograph]

I drove past a city cop this morn talking on his cell phone????? and who's enforcing this law? what about truck driver CB RADIO not to mention the cops driving around staring at their laptop attached to the front friken seat??? i have my camera sitting here on the seat ready to take pics of the next one i see!!!! oh ya what about union gas , city, hydro,bell all driving around with laptops on the front seat...iam one of them by the way..and ill continue to use my laptop while working untill the cops stop and the trucker stop using cb's while driving.....thats my rant!

 

well for one...the law isn't in effect.....so relax, we're having a conversation.

 

second.....cb radios are different than cell phones...no continuous conversation, you don't have to pick up and dial a cb radio, you don't stare at a key pad and you don't hold it up to your ear....

 

third...if we get in an accident while looking at the lap top we do get charged....and yes, we do, there is no cover up contrary to popular demand our supervisors do the report and write the ticket it's not your coworker responding to the call and brushing it under the table. A friend of mine got charged with careless because he rolled his cruiser on his way to a serious call. which means he gets a $325 ticket and loses the equivalent of 2 weeks pay. So there are consequences same with union gas, hydro, bell, rogers....etc they have been charged with careless and follow too close etc for staring at their laptops.

Edited October 28, 2008 by FishnNAutographs

[POLLIWOGG]

I searched the HTA yesterday and couldn't find where a video screen was illegal, I did find where a television receiver is illegal, so as far as I could find your gps is OK as long as you can't get Young And Restless on it and it doesn't block your sight out a windshield or window.

 

FishnNAutographs, is the video ahead of the driver illegal or are you just trying to apply common sense to the outdated HTA. I thought they were illegal but can't find it in the HTA.

 

Toronto Star reported today that no new law against a gps mounted on the windshield, but there is already an old law prohibiting them.

 

This is how we get stupid laws, the guys that write the new laws don't know the old laws and the MPP's that pass them don't bother to read what they are voting on because the party leaders tells them how to vote..

[BUSTER]

my point about cb's is it is similar to talking on a phone , when someone calls you you have to look for the cb , pick it up, and push a button and hold it near or in front of you face and talk with someone, then let go and listen to what they are saying not to mention volume ,squelch, etc to me it is the same damn thing, how can you be FOR banning cell phone and not laptops or cb's??? still a safety thisng isnt it.. and if you rear end someone iam sure the first thing you do is close your lap top befor anyone see's you right? cause you wouldnt want to be caught breaking the law now would ya! you might get paid leave.