Toronto MPP wants to ban people from crossing the street while using their cellphones

Private member’s bills rarely make it into law. But according to a summary obtained by the Star his bill would “ban pedestrians from crossing the road while holding and using a wireless communication device, electronic entertainment device, or other prescribed device.”

People contravening the bill could be served a $50 fine on the first offence. The amount would increase to $75 on a second offence, and $125 on a third and subsequent violations.

The ban wouldn’t apply if someone was using a phone to contact emergency services, or “to continue a phone call that was started before crossing the roadway.”

Municipalities would be allowed to opt out of the ban if they chose.

In an interview, Baker said his intention wasn’t to downplay the dangers posed by drivers using cellphones.

“But what I am saying is that a component of the problem we face is that some people when they cross the road are distracted. And experts tell us that’s a risky behaviour, and experts tell us we should take steps to address that. And that’s what this bill is meant to do,” he said.

“I just want to raise awareness and encourage pedestrians to keep themselves and others safe.”

His proposed law is supported by the Ontario Safety League, a non-profit traffic safety organization, as well as the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association.

Dylan Reid, a spokesperson for pedestrian safety group Walk Toronto, called the bill “ridiculous and redundant.”

He said existing laws already determine whether pedestrians or motorists have the right of way, and road users can be fined accordingly.

Reid argued that while pedestrians should always pay attention for their own sake, if they have the right of way “you have the right to cross in any way you want to and it’s up to drivers to not interfere with you and not to hit you.”

He said the proposed bill distracts from the main causes of pedestrian injuries, which he identified as distracted driving, driver error, and unsafe road infrastructure.

Some public polls suggest there is majority support in Canada for “distracted walking” legislation.

The issue gained renewed attention this week when a law banning pedestrians from looking at a device while using a crosswalk went into effect in Honolulu, Hawaii. Some observers have dubbed it a “zombie law,” in an allusion to smart phone users’ fixation with their screens.

But there is still considerable debate over whether pedestrian inattentiveness actually poses a major public health threat.

A 2015 Toronto Public Health report on road safety determined pedestrian inattentiveness of all kinds was a factor in just 13 per cent of serious collisions involving pedestrians between 2008 and 2012.

The same report found pedestrians had the right of way in 67 per cent of serious crashes.

Meanwhile, there is indication that cellphone use by drivers is a major and growing cause of serious collisions. According to the Ontario Provincial Police, distracted driving was the leading cause of traffic deaths on the province’s highways last year, and now exceeds alcohol- or speed-related fatalities.

In July 2016, Toronto city council passed a motion requesting the province to consider changes to the Highway Traffic Act to prohibit “actively using a hand-held wireless communication device or hand-held electronic entertainment device while on any travelled portion of a roadway.”

The provincial Liberal government didn’t take up the cause last year, and a crackdown on cellphone-wielding pedestrians wasn’t included in new road safety legislation Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca announced in September.

Although Tory voted for the council motion last year, he told reporters earlier this week he wasn’t keen on “reopening’ the debate over distracted walking laws.

“I tend to think what we really need to do, and it’s always then a question of getting the resources to do it, it’s just more public education,” he said.

“You know, the idea that we’re going to have more people out writing up tickets and handing them to people who are crossing the street without the care they might (take) just doesn’t strike me necessarily as the best use of resources.”