Ontario ban on hand-held devices while driving doesn’t go far enough: survey

Results of an RBC Insurance/Ipsos Reid survey suggest that, although there is strong public support for Ontario’s forthcoming ban on the use of hand-held devices while driving, a majority of Ontario drivers believe the ban does not go far enough.
Ontario’s Bill 118, The Countering Distracted Driving and Promoting Green Transportation Act, 2009 is due to take effect on Oct. 26, 2009.
The new Ontario law will make it illegal for drivers to talk, text, type, dial or email using hand-held cell phones and other hand-held communications and entertainment devices.
Under Ontario’s new law, fines of up to Cdn$500 can be levied against distracted drivers who text, type, email, dial or chat using a prohibited hand-held device.
Following a three-month education period beginning on Oct. 26, police will start issuing tickets on Feb. 1, 2010.
But a majority of Ontario drivers feels that the new Ontario legislation doesn’t go far enough, according to a recent RBC Insurance/Ipsos Reid survey.
“With the new law scheduled to come into effect this fall, more than half (58%) of Ontario drivers agree that hands-free devices are just as dangerous as hand-held devices and should be included in the new law,” the survey says. “Sixty nine per cent believe the Ontario government should also ban drivers from eating while they drive.”
Overall, 95% of survey respondents agreed that driving while talking on a hand-held cell phone is dangerous, and 71% strongly support the proposed law.
But the degree of support for the ban varies by age, the survey says.
Teens and young people under 35 are the most frequent users of cell phones while driving, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation says.
Perhaps not surprisingly, then, the survey found that “only 57% of drivers between the ages of 18-34 strongly support the legislation, compared to 72% of drivers between the ages of 35-54 and 83% of drivers over the age of 55.”
This online survey of 876 Ontario drivers was conducted via Ipsos Reid’s national online panel. The results are considered accurate to within +/-3.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.