Alberta distracted driving law unveiled

Alberta would no longer be “Canada’s traffic-safety donkey” under long-delayed legislation that would tackle distracted driving.

The province’s Tory government called the plan “some of the most comprehensive distracted driving legislation in Canada.”

Bill 16, introduced April 14, would outlaw drivers’ use of handheld cell phones (hands-free OK), as well as PDAs and other handheld electronic communications devices. Texting would be included in forbidden activities.

Alberta’s distracted driving legislation includes a ban on “personal grooming” while driving. While frequently cited (by dubious lawmakers) during distracted driving debates in North America, this is one of the few measures to seriously propose such a ban.

“Drivers can be distracted behind the wheel for many reasons other than talking on their phone,” said MLA Art Johnston, who introduced the bill. “This legislation goes beyond a simple hand-held cellphone ban.”

Also prohibited for drivers would be non-commercial use of CB radios, writing, drawing, sketching and non-transportation-related video screen watching.

(Update) A day later, the government raised the possibility that enforcement might be secondary if the law is approved — meaning police need another reason to pull over drivers before issuing a citation.

Alberta had been criticized by safety groups and some legislators for dragging its feet on distracted driving legislation while other provinces took action.

The Calgary Sun editorialized in January: “The Stelmach government keeps dangling the carrot (of distracted driving laws), and then yanking it away. … Alberta … is set to become Canada’s traffic-safety donkey once again.” The paper cited fear of drops in popularity polls as one reason for the delays.

Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach cited a “busy agenda” as the reason no distracted driving legislation was proposed for 2009.

Strathcona County (east of capital Edmonton) has the province’s only law against driving while cell phoning and text messaging.

MLA Johnston, Calgary-Hays, is a former policeman who has been pushing for distracted driving for years. “I appreciate the great input of law enforcement and traffic safety stakeholders that has led to the introduction of this legislation,” he said. “This is a complex issue and I believe we have found a good balance between enforcement and safety.”

Ontario cell phone, texting ban begins

Ontario’s law banning the use of handheld electronic devices by drivers is now in effect.

Enforcement of the province-wide ban started Monday, but the fines that could sap violators of $500 (CAN) won’t kick in until Feb. 1, 2010.

“This law is about keeping your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel,” Transportation Minister Jim Bradley said at a news conference in Toronto on Monday. “We need to prevent these unnecessary road accidents and I believe this law will do just that.”

Drivers may continue to use cell phones if a hands-free device such as a Bluetooth headset
is employed.

Violations include talking, texting or emailing on cell phones or PDAs while behind the wheel. Cell phones may be used if the driver pulls off the road, but not while stopped in traffic.

Laptop computers and entertainment devices such as DVD players and game units are covered as well. The law prohibits viewing of any electronic screen “unrelated to the driving task such as laptops or DVD players while driving,” Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation says.

GPS units are exempted if they are mounted to a dashboard and iPods must be connected to the auto’s speaker system.

Read Ontario’s complete Rules for Hand-Held Wireless and Entertainment Devices.

There are no points charged to the license under Ontario’s new law, but drivers who endanger others while using electronic devices could face 6 points and fines up to $1,000.

The Legislature unanimously passed the plan on April 22, 2009. Premier Dalton McGuinty had opposed the ban but gave in to growing support. The intent was to get the law in place before the onset of winter driving.

Newfoundland and Labrador have long outlawed use of handheld cell phones while driving. Quebec and Nova Scotia joined the club this year. British Columbia is about to enact similar sanctions.

Saskatchewan and Alberta are in various stages of enacting bans against drivers using handheld cell phones and text messaging.

Read the Ontario cell phone and texting bill 118 (PDF).

Related content:

Ontario reins in handheld devices

Ontario targets cell phones, text messages

Canadian cell phone law updates

A close shave with Ontario cell phone ban

Ontario’s government ombudsman is taking heat for distracted driving — because he was busy making a tattle-tale video of an extreme case of distracted driving.

Andre Martin, the province watchdog, noticed a driver ahead of him using an electric razor to shave his head. Martin whipped out his iPhone and made a video of the outrage, posting it as an example of how motorists will do just about anything behind a wheel, the Toronto Sun reported. Martin was stopped at a light at the time.

Unfortunately for Martin, his actions were in violation of the Ontario’s new hands-free law, at least in theory. The ban on using cell phones, cameras and texting devices has been approved but the cops won’t be writing tickets until fall.

The Ontario Safety League president wasn’t a fan of Martin’s civic vigilance. “He may want to review his protocols going forward,” he told the Sun.

“If this had occurred when the new law was in, there would have been two offenders.”

Other behaviors cited in the new law are emailing, watching DVDs, fooling with MP3 players and video gaming. No mention of head-buzzing, yet.

Phoning in other drivers’ antics appears to be a popular pastime in Ontario, with a third of impaired-motorist reports coming from fellow citizens.

The tattlers will be plenty busy in the fall, as the ban on handheld cell phones and texting goes into effect.

Canadian distracted driving updates

Canada cell phone/texting overview: Distracted driving legislation has been enacted across Canada, with restrictions similar to those being adopted in the United States.

Most Canadian provinces have outlawed use of handheld cell phones and/or text messaging while driving — Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Newfoundland/Labrador.

Here’s an update on the other provinces and territories.

• Alberta’s government has proposed an extensive set of rules that target distracted driving. Debate begins in the fall.
• Prince Edward Island’s ban on the use of handheld electronic devices went into effect Jan. 23, 2010.
• Saskatchewan’s ban on talking and texting on handheld cellphones became law Jan. 1, 2010.
• British Columbia’s bans on handheld cell phone use and text messaging while driving became law Jan. 1, 2010, with fines of $167 beginning Feb. 1.
• Manitoba’s cell phone/texting went into effect July 15.
• The Yukon Territory’s legislators have almost unanimously endorsed creation of a plan to rein in drivers’ use of cell phones and “similar electronic devices.”

Alberta’s lawmakers have set the debate over distracted driving for fall. Bill 16, introduced by MLA Art Johnston, would ban handheld cell phones (hands-free OK) as well as PDAs and other handheld electronic communications devices. Texting would be banned. Also prohibited would be personal grooming, non-commercial use of CB radios, writing, drawing, sketching and use of certain video screens. Fine of $172, no demerits.

“We are sending a strong safety message to all Albertans: When you’re in your vehicle, your focus must be on driving,” said Luke Ouellette, the transportation minister. Ouellette gave signals the day after the introduction that enforcement might be secondary if the law is approved — meaning police need another reason to pull over drivers before issuing a citation.

Alberta had been criticized by safety groups and some legislators for dragging its feet on distracted driving legislation. Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach said in December 2009 that he wanted to see the effects of texting bans in other provinces before acting. He cited a “busy agenda” as the reason it was not addressed that year. Calgary Police Chief Rick Hanson says distracted driving legislation is overdue.

The Alberta Motor Association says its poll of province drivers indicated 75 percent were in favor of Bill 16, the distracted driving legislation to be debated in the fall. Almost 70 percent backed limits on the use of all cell phones, including hands-free.

Edmonton city councilor Dave Thiele is lobbying for Alberta to ban all cell phone use by motorists. “I would encourage Transportation Minister Luke Ouellette to amend the bill to include hands-free devices in the bill,” he wrote in an op-ed piece.

Strathcona County’s ban on texting and handheld cell phone use while driving began Sept. 1, 2009. The county bylaw is the first in Alberta. The activities are outlawed on country roads, not those policed by the province. Fines run from $100 to $200. The ban on text messaging and handheld cell phone use was approved in May. Alberta’s government is developing similar legislation. (Strathcona County is east of Edmonton, with a population of more than 80,000.)

Ontario Provincial Police wrote almost 3,800 distracted driving tickets in the five-month period between February 2010 (when active enforcement began) and July. OPP said tickets were down from May (778) to June (496). The numbers did not include municipal police, Toronto’s Metro reported. The ban became law in October 2009. Fines of $125CAN (typical) didn’t kick in until Feb. 1.

In Ottawa, Ontario’s ban on drivers’ use of handheld electronic devices such as cell phones and PDAs led to almost 2,000 citations so far in 2010, the Police Service reported in mid-August.

Total ban on cell phones: The Canadian Automobile Association is convinced that driving while using a hands-free cell phone is no safer than driving with a handheld cell phone. It’s pushing the provincial governments to expand their bans. The group says Nova Scotia is reconsidering its law and it hopes to sway New Brunswick as it writes its driving and cell phones law.

The British Columbia Automobile Association says handheld cell phone use has been greatly reduced in the six months since the province’s ban went into effect. But plenty of drivers say they still see others using mobile phones. The BCAA polled users of its web site and e-newsletter in June and July 2010, with only 6 percent of the respondents saying they continue to use handheld cell phones while driving. But 77 percent of those surveyed said they saw other drivers yakking and driving at least once a week. Based on the responses, “it is particularly encouraging to see the significant number of drivers who either pull off the road to make or take a call, or are no longer using a phone at all,” a BCAA spokesman said.

Cell phone poll: Canadians remain split over the need to outlaw cell phone use while driving, with about half of those polled supporting outright bans. Forty-two percent were opposed. A clear majority (67%) told pollsters that drivers wouldn’t obey cell phone bans, while half said police wouldn’t enforce the laws anyway. Older respondents (58%) wanted bans on all types of cell phone use by drivers, while younger people generally were not supportive (28%). The poll of 1,007 adults was taken online in late October 2009 by TNS Canadian Facts.

Saskatchewan’s ban on text messaging and use of handheld cell phones took effect Jan. 1, 2010. June Draude, minister for Saskatchewan Government Insurance, introduced the legislation Nov. 12 and it passed a final reading on Nov. 25. New drivers also will be prohibited from any cell phone use. Violators are to be fined $280 and will receive four demerit points.

British Columbia’s texting and handheld cell phone bans resulted in 715 tickets in the first two months of enforcement. The bans went into effect Jan. 1, 2010, but there was a month’s warning period. Tickets cost $167. Up to three points could be assessed against a text-messaging or emailing driver.

Prince Edward Island’s law against driving while using handheld electronic devices went into effect Jan. 23, 2010. Fines range from $250 to $400 plus 3 points against license.

New Brunswick appears to be the only province not dealing with distracted driving. New Brunswick reportedly is monitoring the success of cell phone and texting bans in other provinces. The CBC quoted a city councilor, David Kelly of Fredericton, as asking: “What is it gonna take? “Is it gonna take a certain ration of accidents? What do we have to do here in New Brunswick? What else is it gonna take for us to go that next step?”

Moncton, a city in New Brunswick, banned cell phone use and text messaging for all of its employees. The ban begins April 1, 2010, a month after approval. Councillor Pierre Boudreau said the city was setting an example for the province.

Before adopting its cell phone/text messaging bans, the British Columbia government had asked the public to fill out a distracted driving study that came with seven questions regarding the issue of cell phoning and text messaging.

About 25 percent of traffic accidents in British Columbia are linked to distracted driving behaviors such as use of cell phones, the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles said in June 2009. The distractions lead to 117 deaths per year, the OSMV report says. Drivers were equally distracted by handheld cell phones and cell phones with hands-free devices attached, said the report, which was actually a “review of distracted driving research.”

The Yukon’s MLAs voted Dec. 2, 2009, in favor of developing laws that would restrict use of cell phones and similar devices. Only one MLA objected. Liberal MLA Darius Elias, who introduced a similar plan in October, told the lawmakers: “I don’t want the Yukon to be the last jurisdiction in Canada to protect its citizens in this way.”

Manitoba’s ban on drivers’ use of hand-held cell phones and texting devices goes into effect July 15, 2010. The fine would be $191, the transportation ministry said. A public education campaign began in September 2009.

The British Columbia Association of Chiefs of Police adopted a resolution calling for a ban on handheld cell phone use while driving.

“The data and evidence is overwhelming that people are more likely to be involved in an accident while on a cellphone when they are driving,” said the president of the BCACP, Supt. Bill McKinnon. The vote came on June 17, 2009.

A Saskatchewan poll taken in September 2009 indicated that 60 percent of residents “strongly support” bans on cell phone use and text messaging by drivers. … Saskatoon’s police chief has called for cell phoning and texting to be outlawed for motorists.

The Ontario Medical Association had pushed for a ban on cell phone use in Canada while operating a vehicle, saying it is clear that any activity such as dialing, typing or reading a text message is unsafe for drivers and those around them.

The market research company Angus Reid says 88 percent of Canadians surveyed were supportive of a ban on use of hand-held cell phones by drivers. 77 percent said this prohibition would make the country’s roads and highways much safer.

Respondents in Atlantic Canada (94%) and Quebec (90%) hold the highest level of support for the cell phone ban, along with women (89%), Canadians over the age of 55 (92%) and university graduates (89%), Angus Reid said.

Ontario’s legislature voted unanimously on April 22, 2009, to ban motorists from text messaging, using handheld cell phones and other electronic devices connected with distracted driving. It went into effect Oct. 26. A previous plan to prohibit Ontario motorists from using cell phones without hands-free devices was shot down in October 2008.

Editorials, opinion:
Alberta: “For some reason — some suggest it’s fear of sliding further down the political popularity poll — the Stelmach government keeps dangling the carrot (of distracted driving laws), and then yanking it away. … Alberta … is set to become Canada’s traffic-safety donkey once again.” Michael Platt in the Calgary Sun (Jan. 19, 2010)

“The (Prince Edward Island) government is apparently ready to reintroduce legislation calling for a ban on talking and texting on hand-held cellphones while driving. It’s about time. … The sooner the province can introduce legislation, the sooner it can be passed and brought into law. Let’s just get it done. Motorists who like their phones may grumble at first, but surely they will adjust.” — The Guardian (Sept. 18, 2009)