The province is closing a loop hole in it’s distracted driving rules. Instead of it being against the law to use an electronic device and drive, it will now be illegal to hold, view, or manipulate a cellphone while driving.
Joe Hargrave, the minister Responsible for SGI, said the province was losing court cases because of the old wording.
“Too many people were contesting their fines and their tickets, based on the fact that they were just holding it. They weren’t actually on the phone,” he explained.
“I mean, the holding and texting, they put it on their lap… I was almost run off the road just three weeks ago by a distracted driver. You could see that she was texting.”
The punishment for distracted driving, $280 fine and four demerit points off your license, will remain unchanged.
Hargrave said this is purely to close a legal loophole.
The legislation will take effect on Jan. 1, 2017 after it was passed along with a batch of stiffer penalties for impaired driving.