 A driver talks on his cell phone while making his way through downtown Ottawa, Ont., Wednesday September 30, 2009. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
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TORONTO - To hear the Ontario government tell it, the driver of the future would no sooner pick up a cellphone while behind the wheel than travel down the highway without a seatbelt on.
That was the expectation laid out Monday as the province joined the growing ranks of Canadian jurisdictions banning the use of handheld devices while driving.
"There was some early resistance to seatbelts and to other legislation and rules of the road. They are now common practice," Transportation Minister Jim Bradley said as he launched an education campaign to get drivers on board.
"That's what we want to see happen with this legislation."
Millions of motorists in the country's most populous province are now banned from using any hand-held electronic devices to text, email or talk while driving, unless it's a 911 call or the driver has safely pulled off the road.
They're also forbidden from using portable video games, music players or DVD players while chugging along. Global positioning systems are allowed, as long as they're properly secured to the dashboard.
Some drivers - such as those who drive taxis, school buses and public transit workers - will have until 2013 to phase out their use of two-way radios, so that hands-free technology can be developed.
Ontario is the fourth province to enact such a ban, following Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec and Nova Scotia.
Leanne Cotton said she used to be on the phone constantly while driving but now she's not going to take the chance of being stopped by police.
"It's part of my job, it's essential that I take calls from my boss," Cotton said while stopped at an intersection in downtown Toronto.
"Now I have to ignore her calls and pull over and hopefully she'll still be there when I call back."
Howard Lisk normally talks while driving but said he's taking precautions to avoid getting pulled over.
"I bought the new Bluetooth, I just haven't figured out how to use it yet, but I do have it," he said from the driver's seat of his car.
Gillian Mountain is also looking to break her driving and dialing habit.
"I'm just never going to use it. I don't want to get a ticket; I hate tickets," she said.
Starting Feb. 1, Ontario drivers could face fines of up to $500 if they're caught violating the new rules.
But drivers who think the three-month education campaign gives them "carte blanche" to keep gabbing and driving well into the winter could face a hard lesson.
While police in Ontario will generally talk to drivers about staying off the phone instead of handing out tickets, motorists can still be charged under existing laws.
"These police officers and others in the province have the option with charging someone with careless driving or dangerous driving if they happen to believe that the kind of distraction you're involved while driving merits a different charge," Bradley said.
"They still have the opportunity to press that charge. So this isn't a carte blanche for people."
Provincial police have said cops also have discretion to lay charges by way of summons under the new law, where the driver would have to go to court to find out how big the fine will be.
Opponents to the ban should remember that talking on a cellphone is not a "requirement to make the vehicle operate," said Brian Patterson, president of the Ontario Safety League.
"It won't make you any safer, it won't get you there any sooner," Patterson said.
"Throughout this year we've dealt with pedestrians being hit, cyclists being hit, vehicle collisions and fatalities. We've had people drive into the side of a moving train."
According to the 2006 Ontario Road Safety annual report, there were 77 fatalities among the 33,551 accidents due to "inattentive" drivers, which included talking on a cellphone while driving.
Manitoba's cellphone ban is expected to be proclaimed into law next year, British Columbia has introduced similar legislation and Saskatchewan has promised a bill this fall.
B.C. proposed legislation would prohibit new drivers in the province's graduated licensing program from using hands-free phones, but experienced drivers can use them.
When asked if Ontario would introduce a similar measure, Bradley said he was not contemplating any changes to the law.
"We recognize that we're in the 21st century," Bradley said.
"What we have seen develop as a result of this legislation and legislation in other provinces and other jurisdictions... is that companies are developing hands free technologies that are more benign than dialing with one's hands."
-With files from Romina Maurino
