New drivers in Ontario may be forced to forgo cellphones and other gadgets by the end of the year if a private member's bill passes a key hurdle on Thursday.

MPP Kevin Flynn says his Bill 135 would add to the current range of restrictions on novice drivers under the province's graduated licensing system, and has the potential to save lives if it passes second reading in the legislature.

"Graduated licensing has reduced death and injury by up to 60 per cent among young people and I think this bill could push that figure higher," he told the CBC.

Flynn, a Liberal who represents Oakville, said the public and MPPs have reacted positively to his bill to amend the province's driving laws and he thinks that will translate into support in the legislature on Thursday.

If Bill 135 receives a second reading at Queen's Park, it will be referred to committee for discussion and public comment before returning to the legislature for a third reading and Royal Assent — something Flynn predicted could occur in December.

Tory legislator's bill similar

Private member's bills rarely reach that stage, as opposition Conservative MPP John O'Toole well knows.

O'Toole, a Conservative MPP for Durham, has been trying to get a similar bill passed into law since 1999.

His Bill 68 is before committee now. It would ban the use of portable devices for all drivers, with the exception of cellphones being used in hands-free mode.

"My bill was adopted almost verbatim in Newfoundland and Labrador," O'Toole told the CBC, referring to that province's decision in 2003 to pass a law that bans the use of cellphones for all drivers.

If Flynn's bill becomes law, it would be the second such piece of legislation enacted in Canada.

At least 14 countries have banned all drivers from using cellphones, including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Britain, Chile, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Africa and Spain.

In November 2001, New York became the first state in the U.S. to ban the use of handheld cellphones by drivers.

The Canadian Automobile Association supports a total ban on using cellphones while driving.

Drivers on phones act like drunks, study found

A University of Utah study published in June in the journal Human Factors concluded that drivers who talk on a cellphone — whether it is handheld or hands-free — behave as impaired as drunken drivers.

"We found that people are as impaired when they drive and talk on a cellphone as they are when they drive intoxicated at the legal blood-alcohol limit" of 0.08 per cent, said study co-author Frank Drews, an assistant professor of psychology.

That amount is the legal limit in many provinces and U.S. states.

"If legislators really want to address driver distraction, then they should consider outlawing cellphone use while driving," Drews said.

Flynn acknowledged that the debate is continuing on whether using hands-free cellphones is safer than holding one while driving.

"While that debate is going on, why not do what most people would agree is sensible? This is something we can do in the short term," he said.

"I'm going to keep plugging away at it until it becomes law."