Question the Constable! is a segment the Sunshine Coast RCMP features weekly. Residents can email or tweet their questions related to the RCMP on the Coast, and each week one question will be answered. Submit questions via email: [email protected] or via Twitter: @COAST_RCMP.
Question: Is it OK to use the speakerphone on your cell phone while driving?
Answer: Being that we recently had a province-wide electronic device blitz, as well as a distracted-driving presentation at Elphinstone Secondary School last week, this is a very fitting question.
Prescribed electronic devices included in the distracted driving legislation include GPS devices, hand-held devices that process data, hand-held audio players, hand microphones, televisions, and electronic devices that include a hands-free function. An electronic device may be used in a hands-free function if: the device is within easy reach of the driver's seat or worn securely on the person's body; is voice-activated or requires only one touch in order to initiate, accept or end a call; and, in the case of a device that includes an earpiece, the earpiece is worn only in one ear. Consult the Motor Vehicle Act for full details.
If you follow the rules of the Motor Vehicle Act, talking on a speakerphone may be permitted, however, if your cell phone is sitting on your lap, and when a call comes in you have to first answer it and then switch it to speakerphone mode, you are still in violation of distracted driving laws. These laws were created to reduce the injuries and fatalities caused by distracted driving, and will help keep everyone safe. Please leave your phone alone. It’s just not worth the risk.
