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No Hand-Held Devices In Ontario Cars

NIK282000 writes "To cut down on accidents caused by drivers who aren't paying attention, in Ontario it is now a ticketable offense to text, email, or navigate with your GPS while driving. But it seems to me that they have thrown the baby out with the bathwater, because it is now also a $500 fine to change your radio station, change songs on your MP3 player, or even drink your morning coffee. It can also be enforced to the point where changing the climate controls on your dash can get you fined because it requires you to take your hands off the wheel. Though this was a good idea, it seems to have been taken a little too far."

6 of 584 comments (clear)

  1. Re:And In Related News: by scrote-ma-hote · · Score: 0, Troll

    So it's OK for him to expose second hand smoke and all the toxins that go with it to anyone else who has to drive his truck? Or the mechanic who has to fix his truck? Those toxins don't just fly out the window you know. It *is* a workplace. Other people are required to interact with his workplace as part of their jobs. The intention of the law is to protect other people in their workplaces from the damaging effects of tobacco smoke. Fining people for smoking in their trucks helps to achieve this.

  2. Re:RTFS by KillerBob · · Score: 0, Troll

    And actually, the way the law is worded, my iPhone would be exempt. It's docked into a charger/fm transmitter station.

    It would be exempt. As long as you were not using it to text or write an e-mail. If you're using it as a hands-free cell phone, then you're fine. If you're using it as a media player, you're fine, as long as you aren't taking your attention from the road to browse through your collection and choose a CD. But in spite of that exemption, there are some things that are still illegal.

    --
    If you believe everything you read, you'd better not read. - Japanese proverb
  3. Re:Terrible Summary by KillerBob · · Score: 0, Troll

    I do wish I had mod points...

    But the parent is absolutely right, and whoever submitted TFS is either trolling or an idiot. I'm not surprised that the editors haven't read TFA or the law, but the submitter? That's a new low....

    --
    If you believe everything you read, you'd better not read. - Japanese proverb
  4. Stupid... by Bert64 · · Score: 0, Troll

    What about changing gear? that typically requires taking your hand off the wheel too...
    Also what if you need to do something like scratch an itch, driving around with an irritating itch is probably more dangerous than scratching it.

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  5. Re:They've taken a leaf out of the UK's book by mcgrew · · Score: 0, Troll

    A Grand Cherokee isn't much of an SUV as far as land yachts go; try a Hummer or an Escalade. SUVs handle and brake badly because of their weight, but as SUVs go yours is a real lightweight.

    The handling also suffers because of non-unibody construction, and you're more likely to die in one (most of them anyway) because most lack the "crumple zones" passenger cars have.

    Plus, most people drive them like maniacs because being high above the other traffic surrounded by that humungous machine makes them feel invulnerable.

  6. Re:Stick by mcgrew · · Score: 0, Troll

    if you aren't allowed to take the hands off the wheel, you can't drive stick (unless you stay on first gear all the trip).
    I guess since all yanks drive an automatic geared car this is no problem

    1. It's a Canadian law, not a US law
    2. TFS is bogus; the law says no such thing (as others have noted above)