The important points
- Distracted driving means driving with anything less than one’s full attention on the task at hand.
- There are many possible penalties for distracted driving, including fines, licence demerit points, and insurance increases.
- A driver can still be charged with distracted driving while a vehicle’s autonomous driving features are active.
What is distracted driving?
Distracted driving happens when someone operates a vehicle with anything less than their full attention on the road.
Distracted driving is dangerous. Performing complex tasks while you’re driving increases the risk of a crash or near-crash by three times. Complex tasks include operating a handheld device, reading, or applying makeup. Even simple tasks double the risk. Simple tasks include talking on a hands-free phone or eating. Distraction by multi-tasking contributes to more than 20% of crashes or near-crashes.1
We can break distracted driving into three forms:
- Visual: the driver’s eyes are looking at something unrelated to driving.
- Manual: the driver’s hand or hands are doing something other than holding the steering wheel.
- Cognitive: the driver is thinking about something other than driving.2
Many tasks involve two or even all three forms. Texting, one of the most common distracted driving behaviours, is a visual, manual, and cognitive distraction. Imagine driving the length of a hockey rink with your eyes closed and your hands off the wheel — at 100 km/h, that’s about what happens if you spend two seconds texting.
Even texting at red lights or in traffic jams (also common behaviours) is dangerous. While it may seem safe, drivers tend to react without thinking when they see traffic start moving out of the corner of their eye.
Distracted driving is illegal, whether you’re driving down the highway or sitting at a red light. If you’re in the driver’s seat, your attention must be on driving.
Distracted driving penalties
Distracted driving is related to driving without due care and attention, careless driving, dangerous driving, and similar terms. Each province has specific definitions and penalties for these infractions.
For example, Ontario’s distracted driving law focuses on the use of electronic devices, particularly handheld ones. It doesn’t prohibit eating, grooming, smoking, or other distracting behaviours.3
But, any multi-tasking driver could be charged with careless driving — a more serious offence. According to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act, careless driving occurs anytime a driver:
“…is deemed to drive without reasonable consideration for other persons using the highway if he or she drives in a manner that may limit his or her ability to prudently adjust to changing circumstances on the highway.”4
Other provinces are similar; distracted driving laws mostly focus on electronic device usage. This article focuses on distracted driving, but be aware that careless and dangerous driving are also illegal in each province and are defined more broadly. Conviction of careless driving can result in licence points, fines, and even imprisonment. Dangerous driving, meanwhile, is a criminal offence.
Tickets and demerit points
If a police officer discovers a driver using their phone or driving distracted, they can issue a ticket. In most provinces, those tickets come with fines and demerit points for driver’s licences.
Below are the fines and demerit points in the largest provinces for a first offence. Multiple offences result in escalating penalties.
|
Province
|
Fine
|
Licence points
|
Other penalties
|
|
BC5
|
$368
|
4
|
None
|
|
Alberta6
|
$300
|
3
|
None
|
|
Saskatchewan7
|
$580
|
4
|
None
|
|
Manitoba8
|
$672
|
5-level DSR scale drop
|
Three-day licence suspension
|
|
Ontario3
|
$615*
|
3
|
Three-day licence suspension
|
|
Quebec9
|
$300–600
|
5
|
None
|
*The fine for a first offence in Ontario is up to $1,000 if the driver receives a court summons or if they fight the ticket in court and lose.
Car insurance premium impacts
The fines associated with distracted driving tickets are high enough. But a distracted driving conviction will impact your car insurance premiums, too.
There are many factors that affect your car insurance premiums from year to year, so it’s hard to estimate how much a driving conviction will impact your premiums. Private insurance providers all have their own rating models, so it’s hard to guess how much a few demerit points will impact your premium.
In provinces with public insurers, this information is available to everyone. It’s easy to see how a distracted driving ticket will impact your insurance:
- In BC, gaining 4 demerit points (if you had zero to start with) results in a $214 Driver Penalty Point premium. If you already had demerit points, the penalty will be greater.10
- In Saskatchewan, dropping from 4 to 0 points on the Safe Driver Recognition scale means losing an 8% discount. Moving from 0 to -4 points scale results in a $200 penalty. 11
- In Manitoba, dropping from level 5 to level 0 on the Driver Safety Rating scale means losing a 16% discount and paying an extra $15 in driver’s licence premiums. Dropping from level 0 to -5 increases the driver’s licence premium from $45 to $450.12
Depending on how many demerit points you already have when you receive a distracted driving ticket, additional penalties may include licence suspensions, mandatory safety training, or vehicle impoundment.
The insurance impacts of a driving conviction generally last for around three years, though this varies depending on the insurance provider and the nature of the conviction.
