While it may be illegal to text and order a double-double in Alberta, the same rules don’t apply in Ontario. Traffic Sgt.

While it may be illegal to text and order a double-double in Alberta, the same rules don’t apply in Ontario.



Traffic Sgt. Glenn Porter of the Thunder Bay Police Service said provincial rules governing distracted driving don’t apply in the drive-through line, in mall parking lots or on other property deemed as private.



“In Ontario we are governed by the Ontario Traffic Act, which is only applicable on the highway. Something in a private lot or a driveway wouldn’t be applicable and wouldn’t be something police would enforce.”



Porter was responding to a story out of Alberta on Tuesday in which an Edmonton-area motorist was handed a $287 ticket.



A.J. Daoust told CTV Edmonton he replied to a text while waiting for coffee at a Beaumont, Alta. Tim Hortons last week.



Daoust called the police officer’s actions heavy-handed.



Alberta’s distracted driving legislation applies on both public and private property.



Porter said regardless of the law, drivers should pay attention at all times.



“In a broader view, being distracted while you’re driving is just plain dangerous. It’s not something that would be encouraged anywhere. You have to be paying attention, you have to be in control of that vehicle while it’s moving.”



Earlier this year Ontario increased the minimum penalty for driving while using an electronic device from $280 to $490 for a first offence.



Drivers caught and convicted face three demerit points on their licence, which eventually could lead to driving privileges being suspended.

Porter said the private-property exceptions do not apply to offences such as drinking and driving, which are pursued under the Criminal Code.