Squinty - No Cellphone Ban for Drivers

[///M]

No Cellphone Ban For Drivers, McGuinty Promises
Thursday November 15, 2007
CityNews.ca Staff

When it comes to driving and phone gabbing, Ontario won't be following Quebec's lead anytime soon.

Motorists in 'La Belle Province' might not be able to talk on their cellphones while driving, as the transportation minister there is reportedly ready to implement the measure as a way of cracking down on dangerous driving and crashes.

But Ontario's Premier Dalton McGuinty all but ruled out the idea of imposing a similar ban here - although he admits the practice of talking and driving is dangerous he says he wouldn't know where to draw the line given the other forms of distraction out there. Several private members bills on the subject have been introduced in the past, but all died a quick death in the Legislature.

McGuinty noted that people do all sorts of things when they should be focusing on the road - including drinking coffee, eating and even putting on makeup.

Quebec, if it goes through with the cellphone legislation, wouldn't be the first province to do so. Newfoundland and Labrador outlawed talking on the phone and driving in 2003.

Source: http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_16779.aspx

After introducing draconian measure to crack down on speeding, now they're saying they won't ban distractions while driving?! Goes as far to show how the crackdown on "street racing" is merely a political platform to please the public under the guise of "safety".

If they were serious about improving road safety, cellphones should have been banned long ago.

[yearoftherat]

I see sooo many people using cellphones while driving. In my home province, the police can give someone a citation if caught using a cellphone while driving.

[Cardinal Fang]

Never to look to a politician to provide consistency and balance when it comes to public policy. On the up side, masturbating while driving is still legal.

*Runs*

[Fuman]

but what McGuinty said is true.
If we ban cell phones, what about eatting and driving, doing make up etc.
And how are we going to classify this so that its not too ambiguous?

Fang, I hope you didn't run to masturbate and drive =p

[///M]

but what McGuinty said is true.
If we ban cell phones, what about eatting and driving, doing make up etc.
And how are we going to classify this so that its not too ambiguous?

Fang, I hope you didn't run to masturbate and drive =p

I'd like to see those activities banned too. When you're on the road, your attention should be focused on DRIVING, not eating, putting on makeup..or anything else. This is no more ambiguous than their "street racing" legislature.

[Fuman]

I'd like to see those activities banned too. When you're on the road, your attention should be focused on DRIVING, not eating, putting on makeup..or anything else. This is no more ambiguous than their "street racing" legislature.

true. but in my opinion, the FIRST thing that should be done is to
make the driven exam HARDER, a lot harder. Off topic, but same goes to the York region school curriculum

[Cardinal Fang]

Two things a car isn't is a restaurant or a phone booth and a bed. Ok....sorry that's three things.

[Unoriginalusername]

i hate this government, they are so stupid; concerned more with publicity than safety.

[SpeedBaby]

i hate this government, they are so stupid; concerned more with publicity than safety.

have you seen any other kind???

[Fuman]

have you seen any other kind???
China, no such thing as publicity, lol. Its about the gov't and control =p

[b3GS]

I think banning cell phones should be banned while driving.. although we are all guilty of it, it is very dangerous, and you see people doing it ALL the time nowadays, especially right after work, pretty much everyone seems to be on the phone.

but I can't live without my Tim Hortons for those road trips... and I don't think comparing drinking a coffee or any other beverage compares to talking on a cell phone.

[SpeedBaby]

China, no such thing as publicity, lol. Its about the gov't and control =p

not so true, they are very concerned about their international publicity, that's why they try to leak out as little as possible.

[cereal83]

Wow, it sounds like most people agree with the LIEberals. Lets just ban everything so we can't move!

[tweak_s]

true. but in my opinion, the FIRST thing that should be done is to
make the driven exam HARDER, a lot harder. Off topic, but same goes to the York region school curriculum

Agreed on the driving exam part.

But, York region school curriculum harder? Are you from outside of Toronto or in the TDSB?

Maybe its just coincidence but from almost everyone I nkow who went from a TDSB to York Region, including myself, the YDSB is harder.Maybe not as hard as some other regions but... I would have to say its harder than Toronto.

And sorry for going off topic :P..

back on topic though, eating and putting on makeup are distractions just as well, although IMO they're harder to enforce. I still think that banning cell impractical because theres so many other distractions. A crappy distracted driver is still a crappy distracted driver.

[///M]

back on topic though, eating and putting on makeup are distractions just as well, although IMO they're harder to enforce. I still think that banning cell impractical because theres so many other distractions. A crappy distracted driver is still a crappy distracted driver.

How is it impractical?

If they can (or claim to be able to) do it for the multitude of behaviours which constitute "street racing", then I don't see why it shouldn't be the case for cracking down on people who don't concentrate on the road. After all - they went as far as to give police officers discretionary powers over what constitutes "street racing" and the ability to convict and punish on the spot. Talking on the phone is less subjective than the blanket term of "street racing" - either you were on the phone, or you weren't. It's all very black and white.

The only reason I see against this is that it would be highly unpopular amongst the public. It's easy to sensationalize speed and "street racing" with a few high profile incidents - but it's much harder to achieve the same public impact and awareness regarding driver attention. After all, it's against the self interest of most of the voting public - soccer moms don't drive at 50km/h over the limit, but do enjoy plodding along at 95km/h in the left lane, sipping a coffee, deeply engrossed in a phone conversation, all the while remaining totally oblivious to their surroundings.

Policy making and enforcement here is a huge joke. As much as they would like to public to believe it is so - it's not about safety. They concentrate on the wrong issues, make a huge fuss out of it, and ignore the root causes of the problem.

[tweak_s]

How is it impractical?

If they can (or claim to be able to) do it for the multitude of behaviours which constitute "street racing", then I don't see why it shouldn't be the case for cracking down on people who don't concentrate on the road. After all - they went as far as to give police officers discretionary powers over what constitutes "street racing" and the ability to convict and punish on the spot. Talking on the phone is less subjective than the blanket term of "street racing" - either you were on the phone, or you weren't. It's all very black and white.

The only reason I see against this is that it would be highly unpopular amongst the public. It's easy to sensationalize speed and "street racing" with a few high profile incidents - but it's much harder to achieve the same public impact and awareness regarding driver attention. After all, it's against the self interest of most of the voting public - soccer moms don't drive at 50km/h over the limit, but do enjoy plodding along at 95km/h in the left lane, sipping a coffee, deeply engrossed in a phone conversation, all the while remaining totally oblivious to their surroundings.

Policy making and enforcement here is a huge joke. As much as they would like to public to believe it is so - it's not about safety. They concentrate on the wrong issues, make a huge fuss out of it, and ignore the root causes of the problem.

Sorry I guess impractical was the wrong word =\

The word that is supposed to be in there is supposed to mean something along the lines of "not popular with public", which is what most of your post was about. What I was trying to say was that it wasn't "practical" because everyone would be against it.

[Fuman]

Agreed on the driving exam part.

But, York region school curriculum harder? Are you from outside of Toronto or in the TDSB?

Maybe its just coincidence but from almost everyone I nkow who went from a TDSB to York Region, including myself, the YDSB is harder.Maybe not as hard as some other regions but... I would have to say its harder than Toronto.

And sorry for going off topic :P..

back on topic though, eating and putting on makeup are distractions just as well, although IMO they're harder to enforce. I still think that banning cell impractical because theres so many other distractions. A crappy distracted driver is still a crappy distracted driver.

I was in York Region, last year of OAC. Seeing the stuff I see my brother learning, its like a waste of time. They teach limits (calculus) without going through the actual theory and they don't call it limits. Essentially it is limits.
Other Math/Science stuff i see them learning is not much easier than what I got. I did well in school, so its not like I'm bitter. They are LEARNING the stuff, but just not learning it properly. Making things harder that it appears to be. So to the people learning it, it might seem hard. But to those that have already learn it, its easy as hell. The old curriculum was harder but stuff was easier to understand. (if you catch my drift) This I blame on a shitty curriculum. When I say harder, I mean in the sense of learning harder topics such as Calculus with Trig.

The teens here have potential, crappy parenting + crappy school board curriculum = wasted potential. Don't get me wrong, not all parents suck. But it seems like a lot of parents aren't as good of a parent as the grandparents.
Sorry for going off topic.

[b3GS]

Dalton is right though.. where does it end? How do you draw a line at whats distracting? How about changing the radio station!?! better ban that too

[Fuman]

not so true, they are very concerned about their international publicity, that's why they try to leak out as little as possible.
didn't see it from that perspective, maybe it is because I'm Chinese.
I wouldn't go back there unless they open up more.
But because they control so much their publicity sucks?
Anyway, I know what you are trying to say, nice to see a diff perspective.

[Flagrum_3]

but what McGuinty said is true.
If we ban cell phones, what about eatting and driving, doing make up etc.
And how are we going to classify this so that its not too ambiguous?

Fang, I hope you didn't run to masturbate and drive =p

It just goes to show how little McGuinty understands (or pretends to mis-understand)the laws of the road like sooo many others.What he said is just basically retarded and said I believe just to keep the voters happy....basically if an officer spots you doing your make-up, or on the phone while the vehicle is in motion he can already charge the person with careless driving, if he so deems it neccessary....Anyways to the cell phone ban, they have not banned cell phones all together in Quebec but more precisely 'Hand Held" phones.I for one can say I have never used a cell phone while driving because I believe it is a hugh distraction and I see it every day on our roads amongst many other stupid things...but the problem lies in enforcement and I don't see too many drivers being stopped for doing many things that would jeopordize safety on the roads.It seems that speeding is the only thing on their minds.


_3


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[///M]

Dalton is right though.. where does it end? How do you draw a line at whats distracting? How about changing the radio station!?! better ban that too

What about "street racing"? Where does it end? Is keeping up with the flow of the traffic that is already doing over the speed limit street racing? Is accelerating quickly up to the speed limit street racing? What about taking a turn faster than the posted suggested speed because you're not driving a Buick on worn all season tires? Is that street racing? Where does it end?

[///M]

Anyways to the cell phone ban, they have not banned cell phones all together in Quebec but more precisely 'Hand Held" phones.

Most places that have banned cellphones allow the use of handsfree devices, and I believe that's a fair compromise.

[Cardinal Fang]

Governments by their very nature are more reactionary than anything else. All we need is a string of auto fatalities (within a short periord) where the cause is directly linked to cell phone use. You'll then see the government of the day holding a press conference where they will pat themselves on the back for saving countless lives by banning the cell phone in cars.

[eqlso]

I personally think the cell phones should be banned during driving. I don't think using a handsfree device actually makes it any better. Its the notion of using the phone and concentrating on what the other person is saying thats distracting to the driver, not so much that they are only using one hand.

[Fuman]

I personally think the cell phones should be banned during driving. I don't think using a handsfree device actually makes it any better. Its the notion of using the phone and concentrating on what the other person is saying thats distracting to the driver, not so much that they are only using one hand.

if you say that, what about having a passenger?

[Unoriginalusername]

if you say that, what about having a passenger?

there are more accidents in the non hov lanes (no passengers) vs. the hov lane with passengers.... people tend to zone out differently on a cell phone vs. talking to a person on the car, let alone not looking while dialing etc. which is most of the problem

[Fuman]

there are more accidents in the non hov lanes (no passengers) vs. the hov lane with passengers.... people tend to zone out differently on a cell phone vs. talking to a person on the car, let alone not looking while dialing etc. which is most of the problem

theres one lane for HOV, traffic is less dense on the most part. There is only one lane in HOV + its isolated to the left with a 1 meter distance between HOV and the left lane. There are 3-4 regular lanes vs 1 HOV lane. It is a given that HOV lane will have less accidents. I don't think its a valid point.

I've talked and drive with passenger or phone without problems. I don't zone out, my friend's not either; we keep our eyes on the road. Although I never look down and dial.

I do agree with you that dailing a phone # or sending SMS is a very dangerous thing if they take their eyes off the road.

[eqlso]

I find that talking with passengers is not as distracting as talking over the phone. Time is more precious on a cell (well at least to me), so more time and thought is put into the conversation, rather than mindless chatter that occurs in person.

Text messaging while driving is just absolutely awful. Reading text messages while driving is bad enough, but sending is ever worse (unless you happen to memorize the keypad letters and can do it without even looking at it).

Just because you don't have problems talking on a cell phone does not mean the general public doesn't have that same problem. I'm sure there are drivers out there that don't get affected by the cell phone, but its not them we're worried about. Its the bad drivers that don't do that great driving without a cell phone that decide to use it while driving.