Although the majority of distracted driving violations involve texting, one Ontario driver was busted by police earlier this week for boldly watching pornography on their cell phone behind the wheel.
According to a tweet by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), a driver was pulled over on Highway 417 just outside of Ottawa on Monday for allegedly watching explicit content while driving.
The crude crime was met with a punishment of three demerit points plus a $615 fee for the driver. OPP urged residents to use their “full attention” when driving and to “wait until you get home” to use their phone.
As expected, the news was met with mixed reactions, with some calling for heavier punishments for distracted drivers while others questioned why the individual wouldn’t just wait until they got home.
This driver was stopped on #HWY417 in @ottawacity by a #OPPTIME member yesterday. The driver was observed watching a pornographic film while driving, which cost him $615 and 3 demerit points. Driving requires your full attention. Leave the phone alone, wait until you get home.… pic.twitter.com/vYog4oeIKS
— OPP East Region (@OPP_ER) December 3, 2024
“Let me get this straight…this dude was pulled over for watching…his phone…while driving, and he didn’t even turn it off by the time the officer arrived at his window? He was STILL watching? Lmao,” one person wrote on X.
“In the last week I’ve seen two separate drivers watching movies while driving,” another person alleged.
According to Ontario’s driving laws, it is illegal for drivers (including when they are stopped in traffic at a red light) to use a phone or other handheld wireless communication device to text or dial, view display screens unrelated to driving, and program a GPS device, except by voice commands.
The Traffic Injury Research Foundation has found that distracted driving fatalities have surpassed those caused by impaired driving in some parts of Canada, and the National Safety Council revealed in 2019 that mobile phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes annually.
