Drivers convicted of distracted driving under the new laws will be punished with a licence suspension, a hefty fine and demerit points. The severity of the punishment increases with the number of subsequent offences committed:
- First offence: 3 days suspension and $1,000 fine
- Second offence: 7 days suspension and $2,000 fine
- Three or more offences: 30 days suspension, $3,000 fine and six demerit points
Police will not be able to seize driver’s licences at roadside. They would have to get the approval of a judge in order to be able to suspend any driver’s licences.
“It will not be a roadside suspension by a police officer, it will be conviction at court for an offence of distracted driving. Once you’re convicted, whether it is through a guilty plea or trial, you will lose your licence for three, seven or 30 days,” Toronto police Const. Clint Stibbe said.
The OPP have announced that they will no longer let people off with a warning if they are caught distracted driving. This means guilty offenders will automatically be slapped with straight fines.
The time for warnings is certainly gone,” said OPP Sgt. David Rektor. “Warnings served a purpose at the initial stages when people were transitioning to this law, but this law has been in effect for a number of years now. There’s no reason why somebody needs to be distracted.”
The OPP will be closely monitoring the roads moving forward to crackdown on the distracted driving problem.
