Updated: Tue Oct. 28 2008 12:23:45 PM

CTV.ca News Staff

The Ontario government will table legislation today that will ban text messaging and emailing while driving and force motorists to use hands-free equipment when making calls on their cellphones.

The proposed bill will include regulations for the use of all electronic devices, including BlackBerrys and Global Positioning Systems, while driving.

Transportation Minister Jim Bradley told reporters Tuesday that Premier Dalton McGuinty asked him to make the roads safer, and that’s what he intends to do.

“The premier (asked) me to look at that look at what’s been done in other jurisdictions … to see what our safety partners have to say,”

The Liberal government consulted police and the Insurance Bureau of Canada before drafting the legislation, Bradley said.

If caught by police, drivers will face fines of up to $500 and demerit points.

Newfoundland, Quebec and Nova Scotia have all recently introduced new guidelines to prevent drivers from using hand-held devices, while the governments of Manitoba and Prince Edward Island are considering similar legislation.

Cellphone bans for drivers are already in place in about 50 countries, including Australia, China, France, Kenya and Slovenia.

The Ontario Medical Association warns that talking on a cellphone while driving increases a motorist’s risk of getting into an accident.

Hands-free devices, such as headsets, still leave drivers distracted and therefore do not lower their accident risk, according to the OMA.

Contrary view

Despite the growing popularity of cellphone bans for motorists, the Canada Safety Council opposes the proposed new legislation.

Spokesman Emile Therien acknowledged Tuesday that talking on the phone is a distraction while driving.

However, he argued that most cellphone users would not comply with the law, which would in turn make it hard for police to enforce.

“I think it’s just a case of feel-good legislation,” Therien said during an interview on CTV Newsnet. “It makes people feel good but it really doesn’t deliver tangible safety benefits.”

Therien said that reckless drivers can already be charged and face fines and demerit points under the Highway Traffic Safety Act.

Therien also said a public awareness campaign would best inform motorists of the potential dangers of talking and texting while driving.

While nine-in-10 Canadian drivers don’t approve of using a cellphone behind the wheel, more than half of them admit to using one while driving, according to a RBC Insurance/Ipsos Reid survey released this week.

In anticipation of widespread bans of electronic devices for drivers, North American car manufacturers are already building hands-free technologies right into new models.

With a report from CTV Toronto’s Paul Bliss and files from The Canadian Press

*************************************************************************What I Say

I wish it included hands-free (at least blue-tooth and head pieces). I think having a voice coming into one’s ear is probably as much of a distracting as holding a phone.

*While nine-in-10 Canadian drivers don’t approve of using a cellphone behind the wheel, more than half of them admit to using one while driving, according to a RBC Insurance/Ipsos Reid survey released this week.*

I HATE that I am one of these. My Job includes a lot of driving, and a lot of phone calls…and doing them both at the same time just makes my life so much easier. But I don’t like it…and have tried to break the habit many times. Hopefully making it law will help motivate me to leave the phone calls for the office!