Following the alarming numbers on the number of teenage drivers who text and drive, it appears the governing Ontario Liberals are ready to heed the advice of brokers and crack down on distracted driving.
“It's very worrisome to me because when young people start to have a habit of driving and texting, that's harder to break,” Premier Kathleen Wynne told reporters upon hearing the news. “These machines are so ubiquitous in their lives that they just have them with them all the time, and so we need to break that cycle.”
The numbers come from a survey conducted for the Centre of Addiction and Mental Health found that more than one-third of licensed Ontario students in Grades 10 to 12 — some 108,000 teenagers — reported having texted while behind the wheel at least once in the past year.
Alarmed by the numbers, Wynne promised to bring back legislation that would toughen penalties and add demerit points for distracted driving.
“It's a real problem and that's why we'll be reintroducing the legislation,” she said.
According to the 2013 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey, among Grade 12 students alone, 6 per cent of those who drive say they also texted at least once while operating a vehicle.
Perhaps reflecting what teenagers see as socially acceptable and unacceptable, the surveys have found that the percentage of students who reported drinking and driving has declined dramatically over the past 20 years, with more deaths coming from texting while driving than drunk driving.
It is a frustration many brokers feel – some arguing that distracted driving should be made a criminal offence, like impaired driving.
“Make it criminal,” said Domenic Guida, president of Signature Insurance Brokers in Woodbridge, Ont. “I am frustrated by the constant reference by journalists and even members of the Liberal government to demerit points as some panacea for the problem of distracted driving. Demerit points will not change anything. The ticket is always there; they just have to make it minor, major or criminal.”
The bill that was before the legislature before the June 12 election was called would have imposed three demerit points in addition to increasing the maximum fine for distracted driving to $1,000. (continued.)
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That bill – along with another important bill to the insurance industry, Bill 171 – died when the legislature was dissolved.
In 2009, Ontario banned the use of hand-held devices to text, email or talk while driving, except for 911 calls. It is illegal to even hold a phone while driving.
The province's top court says it's illegal to even hold a phone while driving.
All provinces and territories, except for Nunavut, ban drivers from using cellphones while driving, according to the Canadian Automobile Association. Fines range from $100 to $400. Six provinces and two territories also include demerit points among the penalties.
