Traffic Offences
Distracted Driving in Ontario
Distracted driving rules target hand-held device use and similar behaviour behind the wheel. The penalty structure escalates on a second conviction, and it works a little differently for novice drivers.
What counts as distracted driving
Ontario’s distracted driving rules are aimed squarely at hand-held device use while driving — holding a phone to talk, text, email, or browse, and similar use of other hand-held electronic devices while a vehicle is in motion or stopped in traffic. The offence is about having the device in hand and interacting with it, which is why it’s treated as its own category rather than folded into the broader careless driving offence, even though the two can overlap in practice.
Fines and demerit points step up with repeat convictions
For fully licensed drivers, distracted driving penalties escalate the more convictions you accumulate. A first conviction is generally treated as the lower tier of the offence and carries 3 demerit points. A second conviction within five years moves into the higher tier and carries 6 demerit points — the same point value as offences like careless driving and stunt driving. Fines also increase with each subsequent conviction within that window, on top of the added points. Because the specific dollar figures are set by regulation and can be adjusted, check your ticket or an official Ontario source for the exact amount that applies to your conviction tier rather than relying on a number you’ve seen elsewhere.
Novice drivers: same fines, no demerit points
Drivers holding a G1, G2, M1, or M2 licence are treated differently under the demerit-point side of this offence. Novice drivers convicted of distracted driving face the same fine structure as fully licensed drivers, but they do not receive demerit points for the conviction. That doesn’t make the offence any less serious in practice — a distracted driving conviction can still affect a novice driver’s graduated licensing progress and insurance, and repeated tickets of any kind draw more scrutiny — it simply means the specific point penalty that applies to fully licensed drivers doesn’t apply here.
Why this offence is treated separately from careless driving
Distracted driving and careless driving can describe overlapping conduct — a driver looking at a phone instead of the road is both distracted and, arguably, careless. Ontario prosecutes these as separate offences with separate penalty structures so that hand-held device use specifically can be ticketed and tracked on its own terms, even where the driving itself didn’t rise to the broader “without due care and attention” standard that a careless driving charge requires.