Texting and driving at the same time, are two activities that are not compatible, and there should be serious consequences for those breaking this rule. The new Ontario law will make sure that drivers do not text and drive at the same time, or else they will face expensive fines (Csanady, Ashley. "$1000 tickets for distracted driving, $500 for biking without a light and other laws to hit Ontario streets.").
An accident can happen in just a second and that second could have been the moment when a driver looked at the phone just to hit that missing letter, or that “send” button. It does not take minutes of distraction but just a second to cause an accident that can cost someone’s life. Lives are very valuable, and we should respect them by driving safely and responsibly.
Nevertheless, it can be argued that texting while waiting for a traffic light to turn green is not technically driving and texting. Moreover, waiting at traffic lights is not technically driving.
However, it is not just about not paying attention to what is happening around while texting, but also making sure all the attention of the driver is being focused on the actual driving and its surroundings. The effort and attention that is required by a driver to try to look up, drive and text at the same time can be very distracting whether the driver is waiting for a traffic light or the move. A driver that waits for every traffic light to try to look at his or her phone and text does not have all its external senses on the driving and sooner or later will cause an accident.
It is certainly a good thing that the new law of Ontario will penalize those drivers using the phone while behind the wheels.
Csanady, Ashley. "$1000 tickets for distracted driving, $500 for biking without a light and other laws to hit Ontario streets." National Post. June 3, 2015. Web. Access date June 9, 2016.
