Liam Payne, former One Direction member, dies at 31 in Argentina hotel fall
Former One Direction singer Liam Payne, 31, was found dead after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, local officials said.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says the number of fatal collisions caused by distracted driving on the roads it patrols has increased more 40 per cent compared to this time last year.
The OPP primarily patrols the province's highways and says it has recorded a total of 296 fatal crashes so far this year – of those, 63 people were killed in collisions where inattentiveness was the main cause.
This is compared to mid-October's number in 2023 that saw a total of 287 people killed in collisions, where 43 of those were due to distracted driving.
"It's surprising because I've seen the number grow over the years," said OPP Highway Safety Division Sgt. Sami Nasr, who adds that there could be a multitude of reasons why a driver would be distracted, but that most of the cases involve cellphones.
"You can use the touch-free features on the motor vehicle, but you just can't touch your phone while driving," Nasr added in an interview with CTV News on Saturday.
Distracted driving fines can be as high as $1,000 and include a three-day suspension for a first offence.
Psychologists say that, for many, driving becomes a simple background activity and our frequent cellphone use makes our brain crave constant hits of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward.
"You might think the need to stay alive would override everything, but once people learn how to drive, it becomes a background task they can do and so they're not paying attention to what's going on around them," Tony Volk, a professor of psychology at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont., said over a Zoom interview Saturday. "And so the allure of that dopamine hit from responding to an immediate message or sending a message is almost a routine they're engaged in."
Meanwhile, Jay Olsen, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto Mississauga, says it takes your mind some time to focus from your phone back onto the road, creating a slower reaction time.
"When people change their attention to something else, there's something called a 'switch cost,'" Olsen said. "So changing your attention to do another task and change it back, it slows this kind of switch. So if something unexpected happens on the road, your reaction time is slower to reengage your attention."
Former One Direction singer Liam Payne, 31, was found dead after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, local officials said.
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris engaged in a combative first interview with Fox News on Wednesday, sparring on immigration policy and shifting policy positions while asserting that if elected, she would not represent a continuation of Joe Biden's presidency.
The Ontario Provincial Police has acknowledged that one of its employees did not follow the organization's policy when an alleged victim of sexual assault called a local detachment earlier this year to report an incident involving eight former junior hockey players.
Mounties have released startling new details about their investigation into the disappearance of Amber Manthorne, who was reported missing on Vancouver Island more than two years ago, and is believed to have met with foul play.
U.S. vice-presidential candidate JD Vance said "no," former U.S. president Donald Trump did not lose the 2020 election "by the words" the Ohio Republican would use, when asked Wednesday what message it sends to independent voters that he has not directly answered that question.
A B.C. judge has issued a decision in a years-long dispute between neighbours that began with a noise complaint over barking dogs, crowing roosters and quacking ducks – awarding $15,000 in damages to the plaintiffs in the case.
A Manitoba professor is warning the public after a book on regional mushrooms that he suspects is AI-generated was delisted from Amazon.
Liberal MPs who have spent the last 10 days organizing to ask Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step aside from the leadership of the Liberal party plan to plead their case directly to him at next Wednesday's caucus.
The Canada Revenue Agency says it has terminated 330 employees for inappropriately receiving the Canada Emergency Response Benefit during the pandemic, giving its final update on an internal review.
An Ottawa man was arrested after taking a shower in a stranger's house, Ottawa police say.
Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) Chef Paul Natrall, the man behind Indigenous food truck Mr. Bannock, is bringing cooking classes on First Nations fare to schools and offices throughout Metro Vancouver.
The Celtic Colours Festival is taking place at venues around Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia from Oct. 11 to 19.
Sometimes love is written in the stars, but for one couple, it’s written in the aurora borealis.
Canadian hip hop artist Dillan King says running 100 marathons in 100 days was not only the hardest thing he has ever done, but the 'proudest accomplishment' of his entire life.
James Taylor never expected to be walking home with a bag full of groceries he didn't buy.
This weekend marks the fifth anniversary of a large blizzard that paralyzed Manitoba.
There was an eye-catching mix of rainbows and lightning over Vancouver following a brief downpour this week.
Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.