ONTARIO, Canada — School bus drivers in Ontario will have to start getting used to running their routes without their two-way radios beginning at the end of October. A new regulation will make it illegal for drivers to use hand-held communication devices or any handheld electronic entertainment devices while driving, including school bus drivers.

Although the Ontario School Bus Association lobbied to make sure Bill 118 wouldn’t affect bus driver two-way radios, the opposition was ignored by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. The overall ban beginning Oct. 26 includes talking, texting and e-mailing, but hands-free devices will still be permitted.

“During every consultation session we attended, we and the other bus and truck associations stressed the importance of being able to use two-way radios,” said OSBA in its Oct. 7 newsletter. “We were fairly confident that the Ministry would distinguish these types from other hand-held devices on grounds that two-way radio conversations are typically brief, not of a personal nature, and therefore less distracting.”