Distracted Driving & Suspended LicensesUncategorizedAugust 15, 2018It is never good when you get a ticket on the road, especially for distracted driving. When you get a ticket, you have a few options. You can pay the ticket off and receive the conviction, fight the ticket in court, or risk having your license suspended. A client recently incurred a ticket for driving while using a hand held device (aka while using a cell phone on the road), otherwise known as distracted driving. A ticket for a first time offender comes with an average $160 fine, and continued offenses can lead to tickets as high as over $400. Traffic tickets can also lead to increased insurance rates. The Ontario government’s official policy is that simply holding a cellphone while driving is against the law and you could receive a distracted driving conviction, but you can use a device just as long as it is: A hands-free device, such as a Bluetooth, but only to turn it on and off. A mounted device, such as a GPS on your dashboard, as long as it is secure – not moving while you are driving. What is worse than getting a ticket for distracted driving? Not paying it off, or not even knowing about the suspension in the first place. Service Ontario will never send an email or make a phone call to notify you of the suspension; it is always by mail. An additional fee will be charged to reinstate your license, but if you did not check your mail carefully to discover your license was suspended, you could still be driving around with a suspended license. Which means another ticket on your record, not to mention getting your policy cancelled by your insurance company. It is important to be diligent as a driver and for keeping your auto insurance to make sure you maintain a healthy driving record. Most easy way to do that is to avoid getting a ticket.