Bill seeks to ban people from using cellphones while crossing streets
Posted October 30, 2017 5:42 am.
Last Updated October 30, 2017 10:49 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A Liberal MPP is set to table a private member’s bill at Queen’s Park on Monday that would crack down on pedestrians who cross the street while looking at their cellphones.
Etobicoke Centre MPP Liberal Yvan Baker says the bill – called the Phones Down, Heads Up Act – would impose fines for anyone caught using their cellphone or any electronic device while crossing the street.
If the bill passes, violators would be fined $50 for the first offence, $75 for the second and $125 for the third.
The only exceptions would be when pedestrians are calling emergency services or when they’re continuing a phone call which started before crossing the roadway.
A 2015 report from Toronto Public Health found that inattentiveness was a factor in 13 per cent of serious collisions involving pedestrians between 2008 and 2012.
Baker said municipalities across Ontario would have the ability to opt-out of the law.
The proposed bill has the support of the Ontario Safety League as well as the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association.
Rising pedestrian deaths have prompted other jurisdictions in the world to pass laws targeting distracted walking.
Earlier this month, Honolulu, Hawaii, became the first U.S. city to ban people from texting or using other digital devices while crossing roads.