One in three Canadians have sent texts or been using their phones while stopped at a red light in the last month, suggests a new poll from the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA).
The poll of over 2,000 Canadians also found that almost 70 per cent of Canadians think it's unacceptable to use your phone at a red light.
It might not seem like a risk to text while you're not moving, but spokesperson for the CAA Ian Jack explains that distractions from your phone when you're stopped can carry over into your driving when the light changes again.
"You really have to be paying attention and focused, and if you're not, because you just had an exchange where somebody says 'wait a minute, I thought you were picking up the kids today'", your mind is going to be on that and not at the task at hand."
"Science would suggest that you're still distracted for as long as 27 seconds after you stop texting or reading a text. And that means most of us, if we text at a red light, are heading through an intersection still distracted."
Jack said it could even lead to erratic or rough driving.
"If somebody's busy texting, they miss that the light has changed green, somebody behind them honks and then you throw the phone aside, jam your foot on the accelerator because you're embarrassed and you want to get going and you don't want to get honked at again - then you're really not paying attention and you're just trying to zoom through the intersection and catch up on your life. It's almost never worth it."
Texting while driving in Quebec (including while stopped at a red light) carries up to a hundred dollar fine and four demerit points.