Texting, Talking And Driving

Ontario passed legislation some time ago prohibiting the use of hand held devices while driving a car unless the device is used hands free.  At the time the legislation came into effect I had mixed emotions.  I believed I was capable of driving safely while talking on the cell phone without a hands free device.  My emotions are no longer mixed.  First, I have come to realize that it is far too easy to lose my concentration on driving while I am holding and talking on a cell phone.  Second, with the blue tooth technology available, talking hands free is easily accessible to anyone that can afford to drive a car in Ontario.  Finally, I continually see people driving rather erratically while they are talking or texting.

More and more as I drive the highways and byways in Ontario I see cars swerving over the dotted lines.  Inevitably when I pull up beside that car the driver is either texting or talking on a hand held cell phone. Today was no exception. Highway 400 between Highway 7 and 401 is one of the busiest stretches of highway in Ontario. Often you must drive at 120 km per hour simply to keep up with traffic. What did I see? A car traveling in the right hand lane at approximately 120 km per hour swerved slowly across the dotted line and almost half way into the next lane. It then swerved slowly back through the right lane and the passenger side tires crossed the solid white line. I pulled up beside that car and saw a fairly young female driver appearing to be texting on her phone. She seemed totally oblivious to the danger she posed to other drivers. I continued my journey into Toronto. I stopped in the left hand turn lane at a red light at a fairly busy intersection on Dundas Street. As I waited for the light to turn green a pick up truck turning right onto Dundas Street seemed to swerve suddenly toward me and, just before hitting my car swerved back into the eastbound Dundas Street lane. The driver was a young male that was clearly talking on his handheld cellphone. The use of a hand help device is illegal in Ontario!

I find it unbelievable that people in Ontario wouldn't care that they are endangering others when they talk or text while driving.  Every personal injury lawyer in Ontario that represents car accident victims has seen multiple cases of lives being drastically and irreversibly changed as a result of a second or two lapse in concentration by one driver.  I refuse to believe that the two drivers I saw today in Ontario, intentionally chose to risk lives simply to take a call or a text message that was likely unimportant.  It is far more likely that they really didn't realize the risk they created.  They were very fortunate they did not cause an accident today.  Unfortunately they likely didn't learn any lessons either.  Here's hoping that don't have to learn the hard way.

Speak Up! We want to know what you think about this. Do you use a hands Free Device?