It seems like everyone is talking about distracted driving. It has continually been in the news as accidents caused by drivers on their phones become more and more common. According to Ontario police, more people were killed by distracted driving on provincial highways than by any other cause for three years in a row, killing 69 people in 2015 alone. And statistics from 2013 show that a person is injured due to distracted driving every half hour, and a driver is four times more likely to crash if they are using a phone instead of just focusing on the road.
But distracted driving is more than simply talking on your phone or texting while driving. Eating, drinking, checking maps or applying makeup while driving can all lead to you being charged. If you endanger other people by distracted driving, you can also be charged with careless driving.
Preventing distracted driving is simple: if you don’t have hands-free technology in your car, put your phone on silent and set it on the back seat so you can’t reach it while you’re driving. If you don’t have GPS, ensure that you know how to get to your destination. If you take a wrong turn, pull off the road to check instead of trying to do it while driving.
Ontario is considering adding safe texting zones to some provincial highways, areas where drivers can safely pull over to text and check emails. If that happens, there will literally be no excuse to check your phone while driving.