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Road Safety
What the Legislation Says
Since April 1, 2008, under section 439.1 of the Highway Safety Code, the use of any type of hand-held device with a telephone function while driving has been prohibited.
The Meaning of the Expression “While Driving”
Drivers who stop their vehicle in compliance with road signs and traffic signals or due to traffic obstructions are deemed to be driving, and are prohibited from holding a device with a telephone function in their hand. This includes drivers who are waiting at a red light or stuck in a traffic jam.
However, drivers who bring their vehicle to a safe and legal stop on the side of a road to use a cell phone are no longer considered to be driving, even if the vehicle's engine is still running.
The Meaning of the Expression “Hand-Held”
Simply holding this type of device in your hand while driving, regardless of use, is an offence.
Devices covered
The law bans the use of any type of device with a telephone function that can connect to a telephone network, whether or not it has been activated. These include:
- conventional cell phones;
- wireless information devices (BlackBerry, iPhone, Android);
- cell phones with a transmitter-receiver function (walkie-talkie), such as the TELUS Mike or cell phones that are linked to the 10-4 service provided by Bell. This type of device is prohibited, even if the cell phone function has been deactivated;
- devices that display emails or that enable a user to browse the Internet.
CB Radios
Decisions rendered by courts of first instance are not unanimous as to whether radio communication devices that only use short waves, such as central battery telephone systems or portable transmitter-receiver devices, better known respectively as CB (citizen’s band) radios and walkie-talkies, are covered by the ban provided under section 439.1.
However, a guilty verdict rendered by a court of first instance in the case of a person who used a CB radio or a walkie-talkie was appealed before the Superior Court of Québec. On May 12, 2011, the Superior Court upheld the conviction on the grounds that a device with a telephone function includes any device “that makes it possible to transmit a voice” [our translation]. (Mérineau v. Ville de Longeuil, May 12, 2011, no. 500-36-001400-102).
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