It's time people starting looking up

Remember photo radar? It was used in the 1990s as a method to get motorists to slow down on highways and byways throughout Ontario. You'd be speeding along and 'flash' your car's licence plate would be caught on film and your speed recorded. A few weeks later you'd get the ticket.

A lot of people hated photo radar because they didn't like getting busted by a camera. Rather they wanted more cops on the road to issue the tickets. Like it or not though it did slow people down and radio stations across the GTA would always broadcast warnings where these photo radar vans were parked.

Photo radar was eliminated almost as soon as it started. A new government was elected and out went the program.

Fast-forward to 2011 and I believe a similar program could be adopted with more success by any one of the four parties vying for election this fall. But rather than have cameras take pictures of speeding cars they'd be set up to take pictures of texting drivers.

Here's the beauty of my plan though. Tickets would not be issued via snail mail. Instead they'd be sent by email, preferably to the offenders hand-held device. GOTCHA!

I bring this up because twice I've been rear-ended in my car by somebody texting on their cellphones. Last Friday it happened again while I was driving along Steeles Avenue with my family after visiting Black Creek Pioneer Village. We were sitting at a red light and 'bump' the guy driving his Mercedes Benz behind us gave my Chevy Cavalier a little love tap. No damage was done but both of us were somewhat surprised by the accident.

It may be law now that using a hand-held device, be it a cellphone, Blackberry etc, is forbidden while behind the wheel of a car but it doesn't take long to realize a lot of drivers still use them. Everybody these days is looking down at these damn devices whether they're in a car or walking on the sidewalk. It's time we all pay attention to what we're doing and look up.

At the rate people continue to text while behind the wheel it's impossible for the police to enforce this law effectively. Meanwhile the traffic accidents mount. Law or no law the message hasn't gotten through to most of us.

Getting into a traffic accident with someone who is texting sucks. Getting killed by someone who is texting would be such a waste. No message is worth that price.