The countdown is on until Ontario’s new law banning the use of hand held electronic devices while driving comes into effect.
The legislation will take effect on October 26th.
Road safety officials are looking forward to the introduction of the legislation and hope that the police will be aggressive in their enforcement of the law.
Robert Tremblay is the Research Director of the Insurance Bureau of Canada and tells Bayshore Broadcasting News, he hopes that the police crack down right away to keep drivers from using their cellphones or blackberry’s while driving.
The province meanwhile says drivers can expect a three-month education period when the ban first comes into effect, which means police will show some leniency.
Tremblay says he disagrees with police giving warnings while people get used to the new law, especially if they are caught text messaging and drive.
He says Insurance Bureau testing shows that it takes anywhere from 8 to 16 second for a quick text and up to a minute for a more complicated message.
Tremblay says during that period, the driver is concentrating on the message and is not watching what is happening on the road.
He says that is just far too dangerous to let someone off with a slap on the wrist.
Ontario drivers could be fined up to 500 dollars if they’re caught using their hand-held cellphones or BlackBerrys to talk, email or send text messages while behind the wheel.