Hands Free only Ocober 26, 2009

so I wonder if the OPP going to be out Monday morning handing out tickets for talking on the cell phone tommorow

wonder how much this is going to backlog the courts now--because im thinking, alot of people just arent going to get it..

They're doing warnings for a while, until the general public is aware of the new law.

Don't Get Caught Driving and Talking/Texting on your Cell Phone! Go Hands Free! Get Your BlueTooths Here!

Article: http://www.ontariohighwaytrafficact.com/topic1545.html

Store: http://www.ontariohighwaytrafficact.com/store.php

OHTA store sounds like a good idea so, being a loyal member, I go there to buy a bluetooth headset. Plantronics Explorer 330. $18.54. They won't ship it to Canada. Next?

Proper1 wrote:

OHTA store sounds like a good idea so, being a loyal member, I go there to buy a bluetooth headset. Plantronics Explorer 330. $18.54. They won't ship it to Canada. Next?

Sorry about that, we have taken out the ones that do not ship to Canada.

All the ones listed now will ship to Canada!

Store: http://www.ontariohighwaytrafficact.com/store.php

I picked up a Motorola H780 and it is very nice to use. Lightweight and echo free....it runs for about $100 but you can find it on sale......

I believe our Store has that one listed right now for about 30% off and sale price is $69.99.

There are also some Bluetooth modules that will clip onto your visor and run from batteries. I'll make an uneducated WAG that a conversation in stereo will be slightly less distracting than a voice in just one ear.

It doesn't matter whether you're holding the phone to your ear or talking through a bluetooth system. You're just as distracted either way. The law is suboptimal; they should have banned cellular phone use altogether.

ElectricMayhem wrote:

...they should have banned cellular phone use altogether.

I agree with that statement. But the problem is technology has created small businesses that can easily operate out of a simple pickup truck. Many self employed individuals don't even have an office or a shop. Their tools are in the truck and the cell phone is the critical link to the client.

I'm not saying it's a good thing. I'm just saying that's the way it is. If you think a guy is going to ignore his ringing phone (= money), you're just kidding yourself.

The bluetooth earpiece works great if you have it all setup and tested for volume and such. But most guys will just stick their phone up the side of their ball cap (I suspect).

ElectricMayhem wrote:

It doesn't matter whether you're holding the phone to your ear or talking through a bluetooth system. You're just as distracted either way. The law is suboptimal; they should have banned cellular phone use altogether.

There are supposedly studies suggesting that it is even more distracting to use hands-free than using a physical phone. I was comparing distraction levels with the two hands-free types - earpiece and visor module (or built-in car module).

I never had much use for cellphones up until very recently when I bought a cheap phone for emergency purposes only. I drive a lot now to get to and from work/school and home and enrolled in CAA as well for extra roadside protection. I bought a bluetooth for $19.99 at Walmart along with my pay-as-you-go Virgin Mobile (this past September) and it works great. Both phone and bluetooth, including a $50.00 card, cost me about $160.00 total (love Wal-mart sales). I have the volume set up perfectly, and set up voice activated calling.

Part of the reason I never owned a cellphone was because where I used to live was in a valley in Toronto that was a "dead" zone for cell phones and I travelled to work by subway, another dead zone for cell phones. I couldn't justify a cell phone with my lifestyle, so I did without and got used to it. When I did get one, I found it too distracting to talk and drive.

Things have changed for me now that I've bought my house and live a considerable distance from work and school, and I find the bluetooth option to be safer, especially so given I have to touch nothing except the button on my bluetooth when I want to make a call. It's a kin to scratching my ear. The only time I find it slightly distracting is when I am initiating a call and I do that only at stoplights/exit ramps.

Squishy wrote:

ElectricMayhem wrote:

It doesn't matter whether you're holding the phone to your ear or talking through a bluetooth system. You're just as distracted either way. The law is suboptimal; they should have banned cellular phone use altogether.

There are supposedly studies suggesting that it is even more distracting to use hands-free than using a physical phone. .

it all comes down as to WHO is paying for the study and what they want it to accomplish to benefit them.....or if no one paying the study....WHAT do they want the study to show?

The benefit to the hands free is that drivers now actually have 2 hands to drive the car and that is it.

I thought us cool guys only used one hand to drive anyways.

and MY question is:

ARE THEY GOING TO BE SLAPPING TRUCKERS FINES FOR YAPPING ON THE CB?

you aint a real trucker unless you can talk on the cb,shift gears and sip a coffee and puff a cigarette all while making a right turn

Off_Camber..... since you asked....part of the regulations is for you....

12. (1) Until January 1, 2013, drivers of commercial motor vehicles, within the meaning of subsection 16 (1) of the Act, may drive a commercial motor vehicle on a highway while holding or using a two-way radio

After that date the excemption is revoked/removed!

Bah, I guess that makes it pretty clear that a non-commercial driver can't hold a two-way radio. Time to scrap my proposal for PTT phones for our civilian patrols.

Bookm wrote:

ElectricMayhem wrote:

...they should have banned cellular phone use altogether.

I agree with that statement. But the problem is technology has created small businesses that can easily operate out of a simple pickup truck. Many self employed individuals don't even have an office or a shop. Their tools are in the truck and the cell phone is the critical link to the client.

I'm not saying it's a good thing. I'm just saying that's the way it is. If you think a guy is going to ignore his ringing phone (= money), you're just kidding yourself.

The bluetooth earpiece works great if you have it all setup and tested for volume and such. But most guys will just stick their phone up the side of their ball cap (I suspect).

Welll put, Bookm (and ElectricMayhem). I cited in an earlier thread some of the studies that show hands-free is more distracting than hand-held, but the framers of this law, who must have known about the science, chose to take a very, very limited approach. Never mind the facts, just fine the drivers using hand-helds. As Bookm points out, and as the exemption for commercial drivers shows, it's probably too late to do very much about the problem anyway. Enforcing the new law gives Queen's Park the appearance of doing something; raises a bit of revenue; and may even, on the periphery, have some limited deterrence value.

Friend of mine is a 911 operator. She said today that they're getting swamped with 911 calls of people telling on other drivers on their cell phones.

puzzled wrote:

Friend of mine is a 911 operator. She said today that they're getting swamped with 911 calls of people telling on other drivers on their cell phones.

It's an informer's delight.

Friend of mine is a 911 operator. She said today that they're getting swamped with 911 calls of people telling on other drivers on their cell phones.

How utterly ridiculous.