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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, December 8, 2016 | 4 2 It is an o ffe n c e if you have a phone in your hand continued from p.41 "If you have a phone in your hand, it' s an offence." The penalty for driving and using a phone that is not hands-free via Bluetooth technology is $490 and three licence demerit points. Careless driving, which can include eating, shaving, applying makeup or dressing while driving, carries a $425 fine and six demerit points. Snow said Halton police haven't been able to directly link distracted driving with a cell phone to any traffic deaths in the region in 2 0 1 6 , but that it is believed to be a factor in some past fatals. In 2 0 1 4 , a 37-year-old Georgetown woman was given a 20-day jail sentence and had her licence suspended for two years after pleading guilty to careless driving and driving with a handheld device in the 2 0 1 2 death of an 89-year-old Georgetown woman. The woman also had been convicted of using a handheld device while driving in 2010. Disconcerting, but perhaps not too The average texter takes about 4.5 seconds to write something between head bobs while driving. Travelling at 100 km/h, a car would go about 125 metres while the driver had their head down and eyes off the road while texting for those few seconds. DECK THE HALLS I WITH GUITARS!!! Steve Overend DriveWise chief instructor Steve Overend surprising, was word from a woman hanging around the DriveWise simulator last week, who appeared to be in her 60s, who was overheard saying she texts and drives. "W hen people are texting and have their head down they don't realize they are not driving properly, they are getting out of their lane," said Martin de Repentigny, co-founder of the DriveWise driver training company. Steve Overend, DriveWise' s chief instructor, said the average texter takes about 4.5 seconds to write something between head bobs while driving. Travelling at 100 km/h, a car would go about 125 metres while the driver had their head down and eyes off the road while texting for those few seconds. Claire Schembri, 17, who has her first level driver' s licence, tried the simulator. In her 45 seconds, she had an accident and also drove onto a curb and over a boulevard. "It' s a good exercise. I knew I wouldn't be able to do it." Zack Mackenzie, 22, tried his hand at the wheel of the simulator. The deliveryman by trade was on the machine for about 90 seconds and crashed four times. "I was surprised how little I got into accidents," noted Mackenzie, who utilized DriveWise' s services a couple of years ago. "It just proves the statistics that texting while driving is dangerous." Does he, or has he, ever texted while driving? "Hell no," he said emphatically Mackenzie says his generation of drivers is "stupid" when it comes to distracted driving. "I always think people who do it are idiots. If someone is talking (to) or texting me, I have my phone on the dash(board) and use Bluetooth." %0 ? aS Ses * ©YAMAHA ) 'S $ 5 S - « * T A B K il . R NOW! IC n o V R g o u o ^ D nn f\vrV \ -mA\ct on cnI selected in.H-Arl/ in-stock m m erchandise. L A N \W V .C 0 ^ /£ H o lid a y 1 r *r r - V C o u n td o w n ! D ecem ber `Formal Glitz'Collection ......... holiday . w ith F u rth er R ed u ction s in ev ery d ep a rtm en t! Holiday Fleece Panels Treeskirts, Stockings, Blankets! 50% off our reg. price Fleece & more FLEECE! Solids, Prints, Novelties, Ultrafleece now $4-$13 m Christmas Cotton Collections now 50% off our reg. price Entire Reg. Stock of Panels & Creations Hardware 50% off our reg. price Christmas Story Home Dec Jacquards 140cm Our Reg. $32 m now $15 m Entire Stock! Coats & Clark"" Thread now 50% off our reg. price Fashion Fabrics J (50-60% off o u r re g u la r p ric e G u it a r w o r l d 9 0 5 -2 5 7 -3 1 1 0 · th eg u itarw o rld o akville.co m 380 Dundas St. E. (at Trafalgar Rd., in Longo's Plaza) Butterick 6127 And Sewciety Members Save 40% off our reg. price on almost anything else not already on sale! F o ll o w u s o n F a t e b o o k a n d T w it t e r ! w w w .i a b r i d a n d .t a MISSISSAUGA: 3 0 1 5 W INSTON CHURCHILL BLVD. (N .w . side@ D undas) 9 0 5 -8 2 8 -9 9 6 6 BURLINGTON: 3 5 1 5 FAIRVIEW ST. 9 0 5 -6 3 9 -2 5 1 6