Use of phone while crossing a street may soon be an offence

Using your phone while crossing the street can be a dangerous venture, particularly if you are someone who pays no attention whatsoever to your surroundings when doing so. However, it is also an activity that a city council speaker wanted to ban in the city of Toronto.

As MobileSyrup notes, the Highway Traffic Act already forbids Ontario drivers from using their mobile devices while operating their vehicles. Meanwhile, Councilor Frances Nunziata wanted to take things one step further and ask the Ontario provincial government to amend the legislation to ban phone use when crossing a street.

According to this proposal, If you are caught using a mobile device while on a crosswalk, you will be fined.

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Interestingly, the motion originally forbade texting while navigating crosswalks, but Nunziata changed the wording to include banning the use of all mobile devices.

“That City Council requests the Minister of Transportation to consider making a regulation under Section 185(1) of the Highway Traffic Act prohibiting pedestrians from actively using a handheld wireless communication device or handheld electronic entertainment device while using on any travelled portion of a roadway,” the proposal reads.

 

 

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