HawthorneVillager.com

So, we had this big media event proclaiming the need to prevent injuries and death due to distracted driving. New laws were brought in raising the fines to $1,000. Is there any enforcement going on? I would be interested to know if you or any in your business or social circle had been charged with such an offense? Driving around I see multitudes either staring at their phones, on their ears or the ever popular "evaporative act" looking up and down and pretending there's no phone in their laps. Most every time I see a car drifting out of their lane, I see a phone involved.

No one cares....it's me, me, me OMG maybe someone said something on FB, Twitter etc and I need to know right away.

Based on my observations, this tiger has no teeth!

with cops sitting on the side of the street or in a parking lot, no enforcement will be done. it'll cost too much money for cops to drive around ticketing people than it will for them to sit somewhere and get speeders. thats how i see it.

it's crazy how many people are on their phones still. i have to honk at minimum 2 people every day because they are oblivious to me driving beside or behind them because they are on their phone. this doesn't include the people who just don't know how to drive. side note, i got hit 2 years ago at a stop light from a girl on her phone. saw it coming for a few seconds, tried flashing my brake lights, wish i had space to turn into another lane, the girl would have hit the car in front of me.

the best thing you can do, is just be aware of your surroundings. watch all the cars around you. people won't get off their phones and people won't admit they are wrong for doing so. so just watch everyone around you. remember what they teach you, always move your head and look around. too many people flick on the signal and start turning without checking their blind spot or mirrors.

you both need to keep your eyes on the road and not into peoples cars. there should be a ticket for that. then we can come here and say those tickets should be enforced.

I too honk at people looking at their phones while in motion. They will look up and give a dirty look, or sometimes the finger, men and women. It's a lot of nerve. They probably wouldn't be that rude face-to-face, but they should know better.

I am in favour of more active enforcement vs. speed traps, i.e. driving and looking for distracted drivers. I would also like to see more rush-hour enforcement of mofos who drive on shoulders or at the end of a merging lane to butt in. Very rude.

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What is the difference between ignorance and apathy? I don't know and I don't care.

I think there's some teeth.

According to the Halton Regional Police Annual Report, there were 4905 tickets given out in 2013 for distracted driving offences across all of the communities that make up Halton.

That's a lot in my opinion, & with all the media attention this year, I bet there's more for 2014.

http://www.haltonpolice.ca/PublicAffair ... 202013.pdf

I personally think the cops in Halton are sneaky enough, hiding all over town in speed traps. Side note: I'm not guilty of using my phone while driving.

hmm, maybe someone missed out on driving school. because you are taught to be aware of your surroundings and to check your mirrors and things coming up and around you. if i see a person not looking at whats in front of them or on their phone, i know to create as much space from that person cause they might end up doing something stupid like slamming on the brakes or swerving into my lane.
if i keep my eyes on the road and not checking my mirrors or the lanes beside me, i'd be like that lady you almost took me out yesterday because she thought she could put her signal on and take my spot in my lane. after i honked, she still didn't look around to see what it was.
so i'm sorry if i'm "invading your privacy" by looking at you/in your car, but i'm looking out for bad drivers and staying alert and aware. i'll be sure to watch out for you.

you're distracted if you're looking into everyones cars around you. you're weird too. I hope your neighbours draw their curtains at night

We should wear these with neck braces while driving then. mirrors and windows don't matter anymore.

For the first time that I can recall, I find myself in agreement with PB. I'm not sure how to process this.

Driving around in a state of huffy indignation about the behaviours of fellow drivers - who will probably be gone from your view in 10 or 20 seconds anyway - is a danger in itself.

Also, I don't think I've used my horn two times in a year, let alone twice a day. You're that guy who thinks careless drivers / assholes care about external validation. They're not going to go "Oh, thanks for that, I'll do better from how on". He was doing that yesterday, and he'll be doing that tomorrow. Let it go.

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This one thing probably never goes away
I think this one thing is always supposed to stay
This one thing doesn't have to go away

I kinda agree too. Unless you're in law enforcement yourself, going around honking at other drivers will get you nowhere. Do you think you're going to singlehandedly change their driving habits? Your horn isn't going to be their wake-up call

it won't be their wake up call, but it'll tell them to turn their head cause you are right beside them. i don't want to get into an accident and i don't want to dart into another lane or jam on my brakes risking the guy behind me to to the same. i'll honk my horn to make that person realize that they are doing something wrong, bad, can hit me, etc. i'm not the guy darting to the end of the lane to pass 3 or 4 cars. i'm the one just trying not to get hit in a sea of cars where most drivers don't care about whats going on. i use my horn to alert people, not to give someone their wake up call or teach them a lesson.

in case people are interpreting it wrong, i'm not honking at every car i see with someone on a cell phone. i honk when someone is going to come close to hitting my car because they are an idiot.

The law as written is silly (some things included others are not)
You can even troll the cops if you are bored

http://www.businessinsider.com/randy-li ... nk-2013-12

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Pain is Temporary Pride is forever

People disregard laws they think are unreasonable. Ticketing people while stopped at lights by undercover officers was the low water mark for Halton. I can't get too excited when I see people doing somerhing that is legal in as many jurisdictions as it is illegal. Texting is unsafe, however having a call on a nicely moving highway is very low risk.