New road rules

[projekktor id=’20683′]

Made effective on Tuesday morning, distracted drivers will face much stiffer fines if they are caught using cell phones at the wheel. The new penalties are part of a number of new laws designed to keep our roads safer. A ticket for distracted driving now comes with a minimum $490 fine and 3 demerit points if convicted.

This year alone, there have been 41 distracted driving deaths on Ontario roads and that is up 20% from last year. It has quickly become the biggest of the big four driving infractions that police are looking for. The others are impaired, aggressive and lack of seat belt. Distracted driving is considered anything from texting, to fiddling with GPS; distracted driving is anything that takes your eyes off the road.

Other than the distracted driving law, there also changes to the “move over” law that required drivers to move one lane over from emergency vehicles, that law has now been extended to cover tow trucks as well.