OHTA.ca

So, I was reading the comments on Slashdot(link) and one comment in particular stated the following:

Which is why I always put my car in [P]ark while stopped at traffic lights (I live in Cobb County, 2 counties over from Gwinnett and have received a ticket for "texting while driving"). You're not legally driving if your car is in park.

So, does Ontario have a similar law where, if the car is put into park, you're technically not driving it? And also, is this a loophole for texting while behind the wheel?

Secondly, a sub comment states that manual cars don't have a Park gear, rather they rely on the handbrake. Does the Ontario law state when a manual car is in "park"?

EDIT: I don't actually condone the use of a phone behind the wheel. I'm merely curious what our law states in comparison to what I just read on slashdot.

In Ontario the section covering this does not apply if all of the following conditions are met:

1. The motor vehicle is off the roadway or is lawfully parked on the roadway.

2. The motor vehicle is not in motion.

3. The motor vehicle is not impeding traffic.

I would suggest that a motor vehicle stopped in a lane of traffic with the car in park is not lawfully parked on the roadway.

The definition of "park" is in section 1 of the HTA.