handheld law not being upheld

Within the last month, the McGinty government as pushed for the introduction of Bill 135. This bill would prevent the use of handheld devices while behind the wheel. The cell phone ban passed its second reading on October 28, 2008 and is likely to be instituted within the coming months.

On Monday morning, I was attempting to make my way to pick up a classmate. It was extremely slippy on the roads, and drivers were having a hard time getting traction. I just put new snow tires on my car last Christmas, and even I felt as though I was driving with bald tires. Within the 10 minute commute, I encountered three female drivers blatenly chatting on their cellphones.

As a female, I have always done my best to break the stereotype of being a wreckless driver. Unfortunately, distracting yourself from the road seems to be a daily routine for some woman whether it be eating behind the wheel, texting your girl friends, and my favourite: putting on mascara in your vanity mirror. By all means, I am not saying all woman are bad drivers. I am simply speaking from experience, and my experiences only.

My suggestion would be for the MTO to create a campaign targeted at young female drivers. It might not be the most easily persuaded target audience, but 1 out of every 4 people who attempt to operate a handheld device while driving cause accidents. Somehow they feel that texting the latest gossip is more important than peoples' lives.

The only way the MTO's message is going to reach these people is by baisically "scaring them straight". They currently use a simulation device to try and explain to people the dangers of this sort of behavior. In the long run I do not see this being enough. The only way your going to reach these people is by giving them a harsh dose of reality. I don't mean go out and cause accidents to prove a point. I am simply saying, with the right campaign, I feel that this law will have a better chance of being upheld. Otherwise, people are going to continuing getting text messages and not the REAL message here.