As of today (March 18,2004) the fine for distracted driving in Ontario has gone up. The new penalty is $280. This relates to texting (even when at a red light), non-handsfree talking, or any other form of being distracted. Also as of July 9, 2014 the Ontario government is pushing legislation to increase the fine & have 3 demerit points included. An important note is the charge can be increased to careless or even dangerous driving. With this the fine goes up & demerit points come into play. The ultimate cost can't be measured. Statistics show distracted driving leads to many unnecessary collisions, injuries & even death.