Hand-held Communication Device
I've noticed there isn't much talk about this relatively new offence. As I got a ticket for it just days ago, I wanted to ask those who may know on this forum a few questions which would help me out greatly:
I got the ticket on the QEW near Fort Erie. There's no doubt I was looking at my phone, because it was ringing a lot as I crossed the border back to Canada. My phone was off for a week and I got a whole lot of texts, and all I was doing was checking them. Before I go on, I want to say that I actually never text nor fiddle around with my phone while driving, and I hate it when I see others do so. But driving for 8 hours got the better of me, and I did pick the phone up and didn't notice until the last second when the officer pulled up right beside me. He pulled me over, asked me why I was holding the phone, I basically admitted I did, and he wrote me a ticket. So basically I have no defence, I admit, and it was very stupid of me to have held the phone in the first place.
I would normally fight this, if only for the off-chance that it can be thrown out or what not. But this ticket was issued in Niagara Falls, and I live in Toronto. So I have a few questions:
(1) I already have a conviction on my record for FAIL TO PROCEED AS DIRECTED AT GREEN LIGHT, a lesser conviction from an original Disobey Sign charge. This conviction carries 0 demerit points. The conviction is indeed on my driver's record as I checked. If I pay the fine and get this DEVICE conviction on my record, what can I expect in terms of any insurance rate increases, for having two convictions with zero points?
(2) Can I fight this charge in a court in Toronto and not Niagara Falls?
(3) If I do fight it, what chance would I have? To what other law can I plead guilty to that would be less in severity than the DEVICE charge?
Thanks for all your input!