Texting troubles

She knew it the second the blue and red lights flashed on the unmarked police car behind her.

“Busted,” was all the woman could muster, when Const. Bill Pollock sauntered up to her car, after pulling her over Monday morning in a parking lot on Dawson Road.

Pollock, a veteran officer who has spent the past year in the Thunder Bay Police Service’s traffic division, issued the woman a warning for using her cell phone while at the wheel, an offence in Ontario that went into effect on Oct. 26, 2009, but one police only started ticketing on Feb. 1, 2010.

Over the course of an hour Monday morning Pollock pulled over three drivers caught red-handed, gabbing away or texting while motoring down city streets. At least a dozen more were spotted, but because of traffic flow, Pollock couldn’t safely turn around in pursuit.

“I was just talking to my wife. I pulled over right after I answered it,” said a man with two small children in the back of his Honda SUV.

Drivers just don’t seem to be getting the message, at least not everyone, Pollock said while patrolling the city’s north side.

Most know they’re breaking the law, but it doesn’t seem to matter.

“It’s still a pretty high number,” Pollock said. “Most people say, ‘Sorry, I’m just picking up a call.’ But most people are pretty good about it. You get a few people that are upset, but they’re upset if they get caught doing anything.”

Most don't realize, he added, that simply holding the phone in one's hand while driving means they're contravening the law.

To date, TBPS has handed out 303 tickets under the province’s distracted driving legislation.

Twenty-nine of those tickets have been handed out in January alone. Over the past year OPP officers have laid 152 charges for talking or texting while driving in the Thunder Bay area, a total of 353 across Northwestern Ontario.

By the end of October 2010, the latest figures the Ministry of Transportation could provide, police across the province had laid more than 37,000 charges related to the use of hand-held devices under the Highway Traffic Act.

At $155 a pop – $125 for the fine and a $30 court charge – getting caught will take a bite out of one’s wallet. If it’s challenged in court, the judge has the discretion to set the fine upon conviction anywhere between $60 and $500.

“Right now there are no points associated with it, but it’s a pretty expensive phone call, especially when you consider you can buy a hands-free set for $20, or get the cradle for your speakerphone,” Pollock said.

According to the MTO, drivers using cell phones are four times more likely to be involved in a collision than drivers whose attentions are solely focused on the road. Dialing and texting carry the highest degree of risk.

Pollock said he finds people’s whose cell phone usage is work-related are most likely to comply with the law, while the general public is the least compliant.

“I think it’s the people who aren’t using their phones on an everyday basis,” he said. “Their phone rings and the instinct is to answer their phone. They don’t think about it. You get a lot of, ‘Oh, I forgot.’”

The year-old law also covers the use of iPods, or other MP3 players, and GPS units, which are legal to use if mounted and not touched while driving. It also covers the use of portable DVD players, laptops and other devices like portable readers and iPads.

There are some exceptions to the law. Police are allowed to use cell phones while conducting work-related business, while truckers and taxi drivers remain permitted to use hand-held two-way radios until suitable hands-free replacements can be found.