5. ‘There was no one on the roads’

Right, except for the Halton Regional Police officer who caught this driver sending a text message on Fourth Line earlier this year. Police officers will tell drivers the chances of them veering off the road and crashing when they’re distracted are a lot higher when there’s no cars on the road.

4. ‘I was stopped in traffic. What’s the big deal?’

An OPP officer nabbed this driver during the afternoon rush hour on the QEW. The stop-and-go actions associated with the commute home requires drivers to be even more alert.

3. ‘I was stopped at a red light’

Police hear this one a lot. It’s important for drivers, particularly this one in Toronto this summer, to remember that crashes don’t just occur while a vehicle is in motion. Drivers stopped at lights and using a cell phone or smart phone are often not paying attention to the light cycle and frequently miss advance turn signals or green lights, according to the province’s Ministry of Transportation. They are also not paying attention to the actions of other road users, including pedestrians and cyclists.

2. ‘It was my boss calling. I had to take it’

A driver in downtown Brampton used this excuse this past spring when she was caught with the phone to her ear. Get with the program. This is why they invented Bluetooth technology and hands-free devices.

1. ‘I was calling 911’

Truth be told, this could be an exception to the rule that a driver must be pulled off the roadway and not impeding traffic, or lawfully parked to use their phone. But, it has to be the truth. This driver in Mississauga, according to a Peel police officer, was lying.

Above all of these excuses is the one used most-frequently: outright denial. Drivers claiming they weren't on their phones. Police say that will be for the courts to determine.

The OPP say inattentive driving has been linked to more collisions on OPP-patrolled roads this year than speeding and alcohol/drug-related collisions combined.

Since Jan. 1, driver distraction has been reported as the primary cause in 6,360 road collisions.

A total of 47 people have died so far this year because of an inattentive driver, up from 39 such deaths this time last year.

The OPP say last year marked the fourth consecutive year that inattentive drivers were behind the highest number of lives lost on OPP-patrolled roads.

"Road deaths linked to distracted drivers will not let up unless every road user says 'enough is enough' and shows a complete intolerance for what continues to be the most life-threatening driver behaviour on our roads,” said OPP Commissioner J.V.N. (Vince) Hawkes. "When young people are needlessly injured or killed as a result of distracted driving, my heart aches. Losing a loved one, losing a child, is one of the worst things imaginable; the text can wait.”