The minimum fine for distracted driving has doubled under changes to the Ontario Traffic Act. Fines go from between $60 and $500 to between $300 and $1,000. Add a further penalty of three demerit points on conviction. Distracted driving has long since passed drinking as the single most serious cause of traffic deaths. Third reading was given today (Tuesday, June 2, 2015) to these and other changes.
WATCH YOUR DOOR
The government has chosen to create a new offense known as dooring. This is an occurrence which will be entirely accidental (unlike distracted driving) but which will prevent cars doors from hitting cyclists who are beside the vehicle. This offense, and the time-honoured hippie offense of driving while doped up on marijuana or other drugs will bring a $1,000 fine on conviction.
COUNTER FLOW BICYCLES?
The revised HTA also allows cities to build more types of bike lanes and it imposes new fines on cyclists who refuse to light up their rides. The new legislation will give cities permission to build counter flow (or contraflow) bikes lane. Let’s hope these lanes, which would run counter to one-way vehicular traffic, don’t kill too many bike riders. The consensus seems to be traffic has to be very slow to allow these lanes to work. The offense of towing a skate boarder behind a car is now illegal. It is an offense which seems too dangerous to be true The HTA already forbids the towing of everything from toboggans to skaters.
