On Nov 7, 1:34*pm, richard wrote:
..

Not quite.
The Ontario law is requiring users of various devices to be "hands free" by
2012.
Basically, no mic in the hand.

It is not all of Canada, just Ontario.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

"The Canadian Automobile Association is convinced that driving while
using a hands-free cell phone is no safer than driving with a handheld
cell phone. It’s pushing the provincial governments to expand their
bans"

"A Saskatchewan poll taken in September 2009 indicated that 60 percent
of residents “strongly support” bans on cell phone use and text
messaging by drivers.
… Saskatoon’s police chief has called for cell phoning and texting to
be outlawed for motorists."


"Recent research has shown that distractions caused by hands-free
devices can be equally as dangerous as handheld ones. In a March 2010
report, the National Safety Council in the U.S. suggests that laws
allowing hands-free devices give a false impression they are safe.
Research indicates that talking on cell phones, even hands-free, is as
dangerous as driving with a blood alcohol count of .08. Texting while
driving increases the risk of fatal accidents by 2300%. It estimated
that drivers using cell phones in any manner failed to see up to 50
per cent of the information in their driving environment; that is,
they may have looked at something, but it did not register. In Canada,
the Canadian Automobile Association has lobbied provincial governments
to expand bans to hands-free devices."

Behind the

"Driver using hands-free phone caused fatal crash
Drivers have been given a stark warning of the dangers of hands-free
mobile phone calls after a haulier was jailed for causing a fatal
crash whilst talking on a Bluetooth headset."

"The Department of Transport's official stance on making hands-free
phone calls is that they are a 'distraction' and should be avoided
Photo: BLOOMBERG
By Nick Britten and Gordon Rayner
9:25PM BST 26 Jun 2008
205 Comments
Marvyn Richmond, 49, was so engrossed in a conversation with his
mother that he failed to notice traffic ahead of him had come to a
standstill, and ploughed into the back of the queue, killing Michael
Buston, a passenger in a van.

Relatives of Mr Buston and road safety charities called for an
outright ban on making phone calls whilst driving, which makes drivers
four times more likely to have an accident, even if they are using a
hands-free kit.

Mr Buston's father-in-law, Peter Long, whose son was badly hurt in the
crash in March last year, said: "The use of hands-free phones should
be stopped. Whether it's hands-free or not, it's still a distraction
to any driver.

"What happened was totally avoidable. At the end of the day this man
has ruined many lives, all because he was using his mobile while
driving."

Richmond was jailed for four and a half years after being convicted at
Lincoln Crown Court of causing death by dangerous driving.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...tal-crash.html



Q. What are the sources of driver distraction?

A. There are many distractions in everyday driving. Events and
activities inside and outside the vehicle can cause driver
distraction. Many of these have been recorded in the Crashworthiness
Data System maintained by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) and include:


Something taking place alongside the roadway
An unexpected noise
Operating the radio, CD, or cassette player
Adjusting the climate or operational controls
Using other devices in the vehicle (navigational instruments, business
tools, cellular telephones)
Eating, drinking and smoking
Other distractions while driving include personal grooming,
conversations with passengers, disciplining or tending to children,
reading or writing.

Back to top

Q. What are the consequences of driving while distracted?

A. Distracted drivers react more slowly to sudden traffic conditions
or events, such as a car stopping to make a turn, or pulling out from
a side road. They fail more often to recognize potential hazards such
as pedestrians, bicycles or debris in the road. They decrease their
"margin of safety" leading them to take risks that they might not
otherwise take, such as turning left in front of oncoming traffic.

When a driver's attention is drawn away from the road and the
surrounding environment, the result could be a delayed reaction to a
hazard, or possibly a failure to detect it at all. All of these are
common factors associated with vehicle crashes. Driver focus is
critical to anticipating and avoiding collisions.

One of the earlier studies on distracted driving, released by
Transport Canada's Ergonomics Division, 'The Impact of Cognitive
Distraction on Driver Visual Behaviour and Vehicle Control' in
February 2002 (Harbluk and Noy) found that performing a demanding
cognitive task while driving produced changes in the drivers' visual
behaviour, vehicle control (as indicated by braking behaviour), and
subjective assessments of workload, safety, and distraction.

A more recent study by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) released in April 2006 concluded that driver
age, experience, daytime sleepiness ratings and personality can make
significant differences in a driver's involvement in crashes and near-
crashes due to distractions.

Back to top

Q. How many collisions are caused by distracted drivers?

A. Driver distraction is cited as one of the most common contributors
to traffic crashes but the numbers vary depending on the study.
According to a 2006 study published by the U.S. National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) the various forms of driver
distraction are estimated to contribute in 8 out of every 10 crashes
(NHTSA, April 2006). This figure translates into almost 4 million
crashes per year. Estimates of a similar magnitude have been cited in
other reports (NHTSA, 1997, Treat et al. 1979).

http://www.caa.ca/driventodistraction/what/faq.html