Motorists should go as far as to turn their cellphones off when they get into their cars to stop themselves talking and texting while behind the wheel.This was the plea of Deputy Speaker Randy Horton who gave a passionate speech in the House of Assembly yesterday about the dangers of being distracted while driving.The PLP MP said there was no such thing as multi-tasking for drivers urging them to “keep your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road”.Mr Horton was speaking as parliamentarians unanimously passed new laws to introduce penalties for a number of traffic offences, including driving while using hand-held phones or other devices. People caught using their cellphones to talk or text will now face fines from $500 to $1,000.Mr Horton said the new legislation was “very important indeed” as distracted driving was a menace to society.He said: “I wouldn’t even encourage using Bluetooth (hands free) technology. There’s no such thing as multi-tasking when driving is involved.“You can’t be behind the wheel and trying to do something else … it distracts you and affects you reaction time.“Doing anything other than keeping your hands on the wheel and looking in front of you is a risk to not only you but also others around you.”Mr Horton went on to say: “People should turn their cellphones off before they even jump in their cars.“In Bermuda this shouldn’t be such a difficult thing to so. We are often home in 15 minutes … we are not in our cars that much.”Mr Horton called for a poster campaign “to continually bring it home to drivers” saying it didn’t matter that Bermuda was “a little country” with lower speed limits than the US.He quoted an overseas survey that found people were four times more likely to be involved in an accident if they were using a cellphone when driving.Mr Horton also said distracted driving included people brushing their hair, applying make-up, eating, drinking, changing radio stations, reading a newspaper and seeing to a child or pet when behind the wheel.He said: “When you have not got your eyes on the road, you do not have any control over what can happen.“People have got to keep being informed on a regular basis that they have to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road”.OBA MP Trevor Moniz praised Mr Horton for his “quite amazing” speech saying it was “on the money” even though it sounded like he was auditioning for the Road Safety Council.He said: “Texting while driving at any speed is not safe. It’s not safe in a car but its 100 times less safe on a bike”.Mr Moniz went on to criticise “many Bermudians who have no idea what an indicator is” saying they failed to signal when they exited side roads.The Traffic Offences (Penalties) Amendment Act 2011 also includes specific penalties for driving cars with tinted windows and driving with a television or other display screen visible to the driver.Transport Minister Derrick Burgess introduced the bill saying it was “a major advance” and “a step in the right direction” to make the roads safer.He stressed that drivers should be responsible by showing care and vigilance and adhering to the laws of the roads.Mr Burgess quoted a 2006 University of Utah study that showed having a cellphone to your ear was equivalent to driving while intoxicated.Mr Burgess called it “a dreadful phenomenon” and said drivers and others were at risk. He added that the senior population were the fastest growing sector of our community and “they don’t move as fast as they used to”.Mr Burgess said: “Drivers talking on cellphones are more likely to crash. They are more likely to be distracted by conversation.“Texting has become a social norm these days … people want to communicate when virtually doing anything. Young people have become experts at this.”The new law has the backing of the Bermuda Police Service and the Road Safety Council and brings Bermuda in line with about 50 other countries.Shadow Transport Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin said introducing penalties was “for the good of the country” as so many people continued to ignore existing legalisation.She said: “I’m pleased that there are now penalties if people flout the law. It’s absolutely necessary that this is enforced”.Ms Gordon-Pamplin also questioned whether the law covered people on bikes with cellphones wedged inside their helmets, as they weren’t strictly ‘hand-held’ devices.This prompted former Transport Minister Terry Lister to heckle: “What do you want us to do, ban helmets too?”OBA MP Mark Pettingill said: “Hallelujah, it’s nice to hear us all agreeing on one topic.”However, he suggested the law should allow for safety reversing screens to be used as they were now being fitted in some cars.National Security Minister Wayne Perinchief said he supported the new legislation “whole heartedly” but questioned the implementation of the law by police officers.