Caught texting and driving? What you need to know
Most of us are aware of the dangers of drinking and driving, but have you ever been guilty of texting and driving? When you’re not fully focused on the road, things can happen in a split second. Using your phone behind the wheel is not only dangerous for you, but it puts others at risk, including passengers, fellow motorists and pedestrians. Texting and driving is just one of the many forms of distracted driving. Other examples include using your GPS, eating, putting on makeup and reading.
Let’s take a look at what happens if you are caught texting and driving behind the wheel.
Understanding the law
If you’re caught texting and driving, the law doesn’t take this offense lightly. The simplest way to avoid breaking the law is to not use your phone while driving. Using any handheld device, such as a smartphone, tablet, Blu-ray player or e-reader while driving, is against the law. By simply holding your phone while you’re behind the wheel, you’re breaking the law.
The consequences of being caught texting and driving can be severe. Depending on the province in which the offense occurs, penalties can include a loss of demerit points, license suspension, fines and even jail time.
There are still ways you can use your phone while driving without breaking the law and putting others at risk. Hands-free devices to power on your device are allowed. You can also use a mounted device, provided it’s secure (it can’t move around while you’re driving). This is perfect if you’re an Uber driver.
Distracted driving on the rise
With new gadgets like smartphones and tablets to grab our attention, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that distracted driving is on the rise. In Canada’s most populous province, Ontario, where commuting can be dull and frustrating, the number of deaths caused by collisions from distracted driving has doubled since 2000. One person is hurt by a motorist who is distract about every half an hour. In fact, when you use your phone behind the wheel, you’re four times more likely to be involved in a serious collision.
Tips to avoid texting and driving
Still feeling tempted to text while you’re driving? Here are some tips to avoid it.
- Put your phone on silent mode or turn it off completely before you step foot inside your car. You can go a step further by putting it in your vehicle’s glove compartment or out of sight in a bag in your backseat.
- Leave a voice message on your phone to let callers know that you’re driving and will return their phone call when it’s safe to do so.
- Install a smartphone apps that blocks calling and texting while you’re driving and sends automatic replies that you’ll return their call or message when you’re off the road.
- If you’re driving with someone else, ask them to take the call or reply to the text for you. If you need to take a call right away, make sure you pull off to the side of the road in a safe area.
Taking one of these steps will help make your travel a lot safer. It may not cut into your insurance premium like more tangible choices, but it will certainly help you to arrive at your destination without incident.