Alberta took its time installing a distracted driving law -- it's the eighth Canadian province to do so -- but the new rules clearly are among the most comprehensive in North America. The new Alberta distracted driving law went into effect next Thursday, Sept. 1. The fine is $172 (total). (This post updated Sept. 1) In addition to banning text messaging, emailing and the use of handheld cell phones for drivers, the law prohibits other use various other handheld electronic communications devices, grooming, non-commercial use of CB radios, GPS data entry, writing, drawing, sketching, reading of printed materials and the use of certain video screens (TVs, DVDs). Use of cell phones with … [Read more...]
Ontario: Distracted driving news
June 27, 2011 by 3 Comments
Distracted driving killed more people in Ontario last year than did drinking and driving, police say. In 2012, 83 people died in distracted driving crashes in Ontario, Provincial Police reported in April 2013. "Distracted driving was a causal factor that surpassed our impaired driving fatalities in 2012," the police highway safety chief said. The OPP wrote almost 16,000 distracted driving tickets in 2012. Police ran a distracted driving sweep April 15-22, 2013, targeting not only texting and use of handheld cell phones, but all forms of inattentive driving, such as eating and drinking, grooming, and dealing with children and pets. In London, police handed out 1,234 traffic tickets … [Read more...]
New Brunswick: Distracted driving news
June 27, 2011 by 3 Comments
New Brunswick RCMP report that they've issued more than 672 tickets for violations of the year-old distracted driving law. "There are still New Brunswickers who continue to use handheld devices while driving, or who have gone back to their old habit of doing so," a New Brunswick RCMP spokesman said June 6, 2012. New Brunswick's bans on text messaging and handheld cell phone use while driving took effect June 6, 2011, with no "grace" (warning) period. The fine for violating New Brunswick's distracted driving regulations is $172.50 plus three points against the driver's license. The law also prohibits the programming of GPS devices while driving. "I know it will be an inconvenience … [Read more...]
‘If Lives Are in Your Hands … ‘
March 16, 2011 by 1 Comment
What if your surgeon decided to do a little text messaging while you're there on the operating table? That's the (rhetorical) question posed by short-filmmaker David McDonald, recently honored for the safety PSA video below. McDonald, 24, won $7,800 (CAN) worth of filmmaking tools in the distracted driving category of a short-film contest sponsored by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia. "I looked at texting and driving and what that really is -- it is a dangerous thing operating a heavy vehicle that could kill," McDonald told the Westminster News Leader on March 16. … [Read more...]
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