Less teens in Ontario texting and driving

However, a new survey conducted by the Sean Tucker, an associate professor at the University of Regina, says people are increasingly setting down their mobile devices and focussing on the road.

Between those surveys, the respondents who said they sometimes or nearly always text messaged fell from 27 per cent to six per cent.

“Some of the reasons why drivers didn’t text and drive included the perceived danger, laws, and fines for texting and driving, and experiencing close calls and accidents by other drivers”, said Tucker. It seems that teens are finally realizing that there are real dangers while texting – by noticing a few narrow escapes or actually seeing an accident caused by texting and driving. Recently, fines for distracted driving in Ontario increased to a minimum of $300, increasing to $1000 for the worst offences, plus three demerit points – the highest penalties in the country.

But, the study also found that while texting and driving occurred less frequently than speeding or talking on the phone, these behaviours were closely associated with each other.

Distracted driving was the No. 1 factor in all crashes in Saskatchewan in 2012 and 2013, even ahead of impaired driving. Social pressures can have a huge impact on teenagers and Tucker says it is possible that driving while texting could hold the same stigma that drinking and driving holds. Saskatchewan has also implemented a legislation, which bans drivers from using cellular phones while driving. A new study reports now that at least more teenagers seem to avoid this unsafe driving behavior.