Banning cellphones is the right call

Nov 01, 2008

Comments on this story (7)

Special to The Star

This week the Ontario government tabled legislation that would make it illegal to use hand-held cellphones, BlackBerry devices and hand-held GPS units while driving.

Motorists and truckers would receive penalties, including fines and demerit points, for using these distracting devices. In a way, this is a good news/bad news situation.

It's good that the government has taken action to stop this selfish, disrespectful and destructive practice. It's bad because it proves we have failed to educate drivers on the importance of focusing on driving and the seriousness of processing driving information rather than cellphone conversations.

It is also a sad statement about society that we cannot concentrate on an important task without an electronic interaction to keep us amused.

Even with clinical testing proving that the human brain does not function well enough to safely drive while engaged in other functions, motorists insist on putting themselves, their passengers and those of us sharing the road with them at risk. Considering that these studies have not exactly been kept a secret, why are people still doing it?

I have received email from Wheels readers who insist they can multi-task while driving and be perfectly safe. I doubt it.

Every study shows that multi-tasking behind the wheel significantly slows brain function. The ability of the brain to take visual information and process it into an action slows by 30 per cent. At highway speeds, that extra 30 per cent can translate into several metres of lost braking distance.

Medical tests have shown that the human brain will give priority to one of the ongoing tasks, be it processing a conversation or driving information. However, the driver does not have control over which task will get that priority. The brain chooses it subconsciously.

The Ontario Medical Association says, "The evidence is clear that driving while using a mobile cellphone is dangerous to the driver, passenger and others on or near the road."

What more warning do motorists need?

I have long been an advocate of focusing on the task as a priority for safe driving. An overwhelming amount of information about the driving environment is available for motorists. Traffic flow, merging vehicles, aggressive drivers, slow-moving vehicles, construction, intersections, mirrors, pedestrians, cyclists, road conditions, weather conditions, traffic signs and the list goes on. Processing this information is what can keep you alive. Any phone conversation or text message does not have your life in the balance unless you focus on it instead of your driving.

I drive almost every day and professionally. I see many actions by truckers and motorists that are dangerous and unbelievable. Each morning as I travel down Hwy. 404, I can't believe the number of people talking on cellphones at 6 a.m. Who would even answer a phone at that time?

I am also perplexed by the number of glowing navigation screens I see attached to windshields at that time. Are these drivers still trying to find their way to work and do they really require a GPS unit to show them?

Recently, while driving through Thornhill, I came to a red light. I slowed gradually and left a few car lengths between my car and the one in front of me. I also checked my mirrors to be sure traffic behind me was stopping. This effort has been a lifesaver before.

As I sat at the lights, over the hill from the rear came the glow of approaching headlights. I watched as they approached and, to my horror, the car was obviously not going to stop in time. I pulled forward into the space I left in front of my car as the vehicle behind screeched to a halt inches from my rear bumper. Looking in my mirror, I could see the glow of a cellphone reflecting off the shocked driver's face.

That really ticked me off. I got out of my car and read the driver the riot act. Getting out of my car was not the smartest move, but I'll bet my last dollar that driver would have sworn driving safely and talking at the same time was not an issue before that incident. I hope that driver learned a lesson.

Toronto Star