Toronto police 'Last Call' Campaign - 8 deaths too many

This week, Toronto police have been riding the red rocket, Toronto Transit Commission's streetcars, watching drivers as they are passed by the street car. The drivers do not expect the police to pop off the vehicle and grab them for chatting on a cell phone while driving.

What a fabulous idea.
I have many fine memories of traveling the TTC streetcar to Ryerson University, 1975 -79.

The only people who can be on their phones, or other handheld devices, are emergency crews. The same is true for British Columbia.

The fines in Ontario begin at $155, but if you go to court the judge can change it from $50 to $500!

There have been 8 deaths attributed to distracted driving this year, 2012.
The fine in Ontario can go as high as $2000 if a judge makes the decision.

I love my GPS in the forest.
Essential!

This is true for all handheld devices: GPS, iPhone, Crackberry, and entertainment devices. There are many who are addicted to their technology and cannot simply concentrate on the road and driving conditions.

You can't tweet, text, or talk. Of course, you shouldn't.
In house hunting, driving miles with real estate agents, I must admit that I have chastised a couple to put down their phones. They happened to be driving. You must speak out. We spent weeks house-hunting, driving with distracted drivers who risked it all for a call.

In one year Toronto Police Services (TPS) have laid 17,000 charges. I find it shocking, but not surprising. Sgt. Burrows says one is 23 times more likely to have an accident while distracted by a device.

The OPP charged 8,522 drivers last year for using a hand-held device while driving.

She was approaching a stop light, I was shocked.

 It took TPS 30 years to get a 90% rate for drivers to wear seatbelts. We can do this for distracted drivers!

It will take family and friends to speak up and speak out, not just lawmakers and the law, to patrol.

How important can it be to risk life and limb?
How fair is it to take another's life, depriving a family of a family member?

Speak up. Speak out. The life you save might be your own.

You are forewarned:

He was in a big truck, waiting to do a left turn.

 OPP cracking down on distracted driving
In 2010, there were more than 7,000 collisions on OPP-patrolled roads due to distracted driving resulting in 35 deaths and over 1,000 injuries.

In Feb., 2011, Toronto police charge 2500 in distracted driving crackdown

23 Feb 2011 – It's been a little over a year since police began nabbing drivers talking on their phones while driving — but apparently motorists have not ...

Distracted drivers are everywhere. These are all my photos, and there were many I spotted but couldn't grab a snap. I can't tell you how often I see them when we are taking our Daycations!

For Gen Y, they seem not to heed our warnings. Our adolescents think themselves immortal. These teens have grown up with technology and have taken this egocentric spirit into their adulthood.
Parents, grandparents, speak out and speak up.

He nearly hit me as I was stepping onto the curb from a cross walk.

This driver looks guilty. He must be texting from his lap!

Toronto police crack down on distracted drivers

14 Feb 2011 – 'Last call' campaign targets drivers ignoring year-old law banning use of electronic devices

Cops crackdown on distracted drivers

That's just the “tip of the iceberg” of Torontonians driving distracted,  Toronto Police Const. Hugh Smith said Monday at the launch of the Don't Drive ...

Deer collisions in Lanark County

OPP urges drivers to put down cell phones, keep eyes on road
Your Ottawa Region

On her cell phone, whilst driving

For the second quarter of 2011, which ended in June, there were eight car/deer collisions, down from a high of 14 in 2009. Throughout Lanark County though, there were 79 car/deer collisions, as opposed to 72 in 2009, and only 63 last year. Salisbury cautioned later that the number of car/deer collisions usually jumps in the autumn.

No laughing matter

Cell phone ban & travelling in Muskoka

I must admit that I never really turn my cell phone on! There are a few people I know who never give the number out, except in extreme cases. Our new law bans the use of any handheld portable devices like a DVD or phone. The fine is up to $500, but will not be enforced, at the Minister's demand, until Feb. 1, 2010 (?!).

Research shows people are 4 times more likely to be in a crash, than those who concentrate on the road and their driving (Canada Safe). Of course, those who are not giving their full attention to their driving put us all at risk.

I am very happy with the new laws that make it illegal in Ontario to use such technology in a car, while driving. Now, I am sure I'll get some negative comments on this, as I did with the recent revision to the Ontario Drinking & Driving Laws.

Muskoka roads are fast: most are highways have a posted speed limit of 80 km/hour. But few follow this. There are those who drive 20 km below the limit (also dangerous, and these people should be reported), but this is a different story as frustrated drivers try to pass in unsafe conditions. Driving safley in Muskoka includes watching out for moose and deer, as well as small animals.

This man, above right, was sitting in heavy traffic in a small town, trying to make a left-hand turn while talking on his cell phone. Obviously, a contractor (his licence plate read: I FIXUM) and I know that people in this line of work spend a lot of time on the road. This is a problem in Muskoka, where many rely on contractors, who are incredibly busy. StatCan (StatCan, 2006) tells us that 80 % of these people not only drive to work, but we have a fair number of people who are in trades, and sales & service (80 %; StatCan, 2006), and many of these people drive about servicing customers, and doing work at customer's homes. Traffic can be dense on our two-lane highways, especially in the early morning and around 4 p.m., and this is when wildlife is active. The Sounds of Silence, the myth of rural Ontario.

Our roads are fairly flat, but they wind through the granite rock of Muskoka's Precambrian Shield, and provide unsafe driving conditions in, for example, the frozen rain and sleet of November weather. Then, when the snow hits, people get even crazier!

Who bans cell phone use?
According to Canada Safe, banned locales include: Newfoundland, Quebec, Nova Scotia and, now, Ontario.

Other countries in which a ban is in force for the entire nation:

Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil,Botswana, Chile, China, Czech Reblic, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovak Republik, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UK. I include these, because, as with the US, the ban is limited to particular provinces and states, but it is not a nation-wide ban.

Drinking & Driving laws in Ontario

While some may think this post better belongs in My Reflections & Musings blog, I believe that the party attitude of cottage country needs an alignment. I have blogged a few times here about the tragic accidents that continue to occur, many due to drinking and driving and speed