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TORONTO — Drivers in Ontario could soon face much stiffer penalties for texting behind the wheel, as the governing Liberals are set to reintroduce a bill that would boost the maximum fine to $1,000.

Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca said Tuesday that he plans to reintroduce the distracted driving bill, which died when the June 12 election was called, as “disturbing or worrying trend lines” emerge.

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“I think this is really important for our government to draw a line in the sand, so to speak, and make sure people understand that we can’t let it spiral out of control, that we do need to get a handle on it very clearly,” he said at a news conference.

[np_storybar title=”Jesse Kline: Distracted driving laws cause more harm than good

” link=”http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/07/13/jesse-kline-distracted-driving-laws-cause-more-harm-than-good/”]

A study calls into question the efficacy of distracted driving laws that ban the use of cellphones while driving. The report, released Friday by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, provides further evidence that, not only are distracted driving laws ineffective, they might actually be doing more harm than good.