Alberta DD law now in effect

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 hands-free attachments is permitted, although that wasn’t a given: Last fall’s debate over Bill 16 focused on whether hands-free phone use should be allowed at all.

“This legislation is another step forward in our traffic-safety efforts and an important addition to our overall traffic safety strategy,” Minister of Transportation Luke Ouellette (pictured) said a week before enforcement began. “I am confident this new law, which is practical and enforceable, will help to keep Albertans safer while on the road — and that’s something we can all support.”

Enforcement of the law springing from Alberta’s Traffic Safety (Distracted Driving) Amendment Act (of 2010) began in time for the Labor Day holiday weekend. There was no grace period.

The province calls the new law “the most comprehensive distracted driving legislation in Canada.” Ouellette says the law represents “a bold approach (that) goes beyond restricting cell phones and deals with the broader issue of distracted driving.”

In addition to the typical vehicles found on highways, the act applies to farm vehicles and bicycles.

The law gives law officers flexibility in citing offenders. Tougher penalties can be assessed under the “driving carelessly” provisions of the existing Traffic Safety Act — a $402 fine and 6 demerit points against the offender’s license.

“The law is intended to be practical, effective and enforceable,” the Transportation Department says. It uses these examples: “Having a simple snack is allowed, but eating a meal from a plate with a knife and fork is not allowed. Glancing at a map is allowed, but reading a book or newspaper is not.”

The inclusion of personal grooming is unusual in Canada and the U.S. While frequently cited (by dubious lawmakers) during distracted driving debates in North America, this is one of the few times a grooming-while-driving ban actually become law.

Traveling with pets is not specifically banned under the new law.

View:
• FAQ on Albert’s distracted diving laws
• Alberta distracted driving news and legislation
• Canadian cell phone, texting news page

Ontario: Distracted driving news

Results are far from scientific, but observational studies show distracted driving thrives in some of Candada’s major cities.

Students participating in an Allstate Insurance “Blow the Whistle” campaign counted more than 800 distracted drivers over the period of an hour at busy intersections in Moncton, Montreal and Toronto (one intersection per city). Insurance agents in Calgary, Edmonton, Sudbury, Ottawa, Windsor and Halifax spotted an additional 619 drivers. “All Canadian provinces now have distracted driving legislation in place, but it is not enough,” an Allstate spokesman said.

Eating and drinking were the most common distractions, while talking on a phone or texting made up 15 percent of all distraction citations, the report said.

Ottawa police said they wrote 227 tickets for distracted driving in November 2011. There was an emphasis on distracted driving that month under the city’s Selective Traffic Enforcement Program, which focuses on different problem areas each month.

Toronto police ticketed more than 700 motorists for violations of the province’s text messaging and cell phone laws during its mid-July road safety sweep.

Week 2 of Ontario’s distracted driving sweep ran July 11-17. Week one of the crackdown — tagged “Phone in One Hand, Ticket in the Other” — brought more than 1,600 citations (May 16-22). The fine for using handheld cell phones is $155 (CAN).

Ontario Provincial Police wrote more than 1,600 tickets for distracted driving over the 2011 Victoria Day weekend. Stepped-up enforcement was part of Canada Road Safety Week. OPP says fatalities on its patrolled roads are down 9 percent in 2011′s first quarter. The OPP wrote 8,522 citations in 2010, it said.

Toronto transit officials reportedly suspended 27 drivers for distracted driving violations in the first quarter of 2011. All but one got his job back, but the way is cleared for termination with a subsequent offense. The other driver was terminated. TTC riders filed 78 distracted driving complaints in February 2011 alone.

The Toronto Transit Commission says thanks but no thanks to riders’ photos and videos of bus drivers texting and talking on cell phones. Riders posted several pictures of drivers texting during the week of Jan. 23, 2011. Another rider sent the Toronto Star a shot of a driver reading a book while on the road.

“What we don’t want to see happen is people getting on board vehicles with their cameras rolling, taking pictures, it doesn’t help in our efforts to improve customer service,” a TTC representative said at the end of the week. “We don’t want this game of gotcha to be played out on the TTC.” Instead, the transit service asked for phone reports. The drivers union reportedly complained about the photos being taken.

In Toronto, police ran a one-day distracted driving sweep on Thursday, Nov. 24, yielding more than 70 tickets.

In Ontario, police handed out 45,975 tickets to distracted drivers in the period from from Feb. 1, 2010 (when active enforcement began), to Dec. 31, 2010. Fines of $155CAN didn’t kick in until Feb. 1.

A year after enforcement of the province’s handheld electronic devices ban, Toronto Police say they’re citing about 40 motorists a day.

Ontario’s law officers have cited more than 20,000 motorists for distracted driving infractions in the seven months since full enforcement of its law began in February 2010. Grace periods had been in effect since the law became official in late October 2009.

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.

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.

British Columbia: Distracted driving news

Public safety officials say British Columbia’s distracted driving law has saved 16 lives and resulted in a 12 percent drop in serious injuries since it went into effect a year ago. The estimates were based on a comparison with deaths and injuries in 2008-2009.

Police in British Columbia say they issued almost 35 percent more tickets in 2011 for distracted driving than in the previous year.

Province-wide, police wrote more than 46,000 citations for use of handheld electronic devices between Feb. 1, 2010 (when the law started), and Sept. 20, 2011. About 1,370 tickets were handed out for texting or emailing, safety officials reported Jan. 6, 2012.

“While the statistics show that we have seen a reduction in fatalities and serious injuries, far too many people are not getting the message,” said Shirley Bond, the minister of Public Safety.

In the Lower Mainland, areas covered by the RCMP experienced a 38 percent drop in fatalities in 2011, a decline credited in part to distracted driving laws. (60 fatalities vs. 97 in 2010.)

(View the full Canadian distracted driving news report.)

Vancouver police say that distracted driving now ranks as the No. 1 contributor to the metropolitan area’s fatal vehicle crashes.

Vancouver police wrote more than 2,100 tickets during the RCMP’s distracted driving offensive that ran through the month of September. Infractions for use of handheld electronic devices while driving in 2011 were about double what they were in 2010, the RCMP said.

Officers in the Lower Mainland and Nanaimo report infractions are on the way up. Nanaimo RCMP are running regular distracted driving sweeps.

B.C. poll: Three-quarters of British Columbia motorists consider text messaging or talking on a handheld cell phone as risky as drunken driving, according to a poll released Aug. 30. Almost 90 percent considered “texting or emailing on a hand held device” as very risky behavior. Two-thirds had the same opinion when asked just about the cell phones. …

More than half of the British Columbia drivers, 53 percent, said they witness others breaking the texting/cell phone laws “several times a day.” Only 16 percent admitted to breaking the distracted driving laws in the past year. The Ipsos Reid poll (conducted online with an established panel) accounted for 917 adult British Columbia drivers.

February’s Distracted Driving Campaign across British Columbia resulted in more than 3,000 citations for use of handheld phones or text messaging. The fine is $167 with the possibility of points against the driver’s license.

“From a policing perspective it is disappointing to see the numbers that high,” a spokesman for the “E” Division Traffic Services said.

British Columbia’s texting and handheld cell phone bans resulted in 32,665 tickets in the distracted driving laws’ first year (ending Jan. 1, 2011). The RCMP says 32 percent of B.C. vehicle fatalities in 2010 were linked to distracted driving (104 deaths). In the Lower Mainland regions covered by the mounties, the figure was 48 percent (45 deaths).

The British Columbia Automobile Association conducted a survey in January 2011 that follows up on its six-month report on the law against distracted driving — this time at the one-year mark.

The BCAA says handheld cell phone use and text messaging has been greatly reduced since the province’s ban went into effect. But plenty of drivers say they still see others using mobile phones.

“In (the) previous survey conducted at the six-month mark, we learned that most drivers were aware of the new law and were complying with it,” said Trace Acres, BCAA’s director of corporate communications and public affairs. “What we want to find out now is if compliance is increasing or if drivers are slipping back into their old habits. We also want to know if drivers feel the law has improved their own driving, along with the effect it has had on road safety generally.”

The one-year survey results will be posted in early February.

The BCAA survey in June and July 2010 found only 6 percent of the respondents saying they continue to use handheld cell phones while driving. But 77 percent of those surveyed (readers its web site and e-newsletter) 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.

The Vancouver Sun reports that on a per-capita basis, B.C. is handing out more than twice as many charges than Ontario.

The British Columbia 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.

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 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.

Alberta: Distracted driving news

In Edmunton, police wrote 778 tickets over the first four months of the province’s new distracted driving laws. The vast majority were for use of handheld cell phones, although a handful also were written for GPS use, reading, grooming and general distraction, police figures show.

February will see increased enforcement of the handheld cell phone law, as it’s been designated distracted driving month under the Alberta Traffic Safety Plan.

Alberta’s new distracted driving rules went into effect Sept. 1. The Alberta Motor Association estimates that 3,000 tickets were written in the law’s first four months. The fine for violations is $172.

In Calgary, police have handed out 1,456 tickets under the distracted driving laws, they said at the end of January. The first three months of distracted driving enforcement yielded 950 tickets.

Calgary police said at year’s end that local drivers have returned to their old distracted driving habits.

The “new distracted driving law is a good addition to our overall strategy to keep Albertans safer while on the road,” province Minister of Transportation Luke Ouellette said just before enforcement of the new laws began. “We want all drivers to practice safe driving habits to ensure we all return home safely at the end of each day.”

In Edmonton, police reported 207 distracted driving tickets in September (the first month), 150 in October and at least 89 in November. Most tickets were for using a mobile phone while driving. In Calgary, the first month of distracted driving enforcement yielded 280 tickets and 150 warnings. The majority of tickets were for handheld cell phone use.

One of the first distracted driving tickets went to a commuter eating chow mein behind the wheel, the Edmonton Journal reported.

Read about Alberta’s new distracted driving laws.

Alberta’s lawmakers approved the government’s distracted driving Bill 16 on Nov. 17, 2010. The new law bans handheld cell phones (hands-free OK) as well as PDAs and other handheld electronic communications devices. Texting will 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.

Transport Minister Luke Ouellette said June 22 while announcing the Sept. 1 start date: “This new law is the most comprehensive distracted driving law in the country. No other jurisdiction in Canada addresses such a wide range of driving distractions.”

Minister of Public Security Frank Oberle also weighed in: “We are sending an extremely strong traffic safety message to motorists across the province: When you’re in your vehicle, your focus must be on driving.”

The RCMP in Alberta didn’t wait for the new provincial government law. It targeted distracted drivers in February 2011. Under current law, careless driving can bring fines of $402 and 6 demerits.

(View the full Canadian distracted driving news report.)

Calgary police chief Rick Hanson says his officers initially will enforce the distracted driving laws “with discretion”: “We’ll be communicating with media when we’re going to start enforcing it and I suspect the warnings will start right after (enactment), just to make people aware.”

Hanson says of the controversial report from the U.S. Highway Loss Data Institute showing distracted driving laws don’t work: “I can show you research that shows the Americans didn’t land on the moon in 1969, too.”

Enforcement of the law springing from Alberta’s Traffic Safety (Distracted Driving) Amendment Act has been put off again. MLA Ken Allred, St. Albert, unsuccessfully lobbied for the rules to take effect Jan. 1, 2011. “We’ve had enough discussion about it — education, if you want — over the last two years,” Allred said.

The province calls the new law “the most comprehensive distracted driving legislation in Canada.” Minister of Transportation Luke Ouellette said the law “is a bold approach and goes beyond restricting cell phones and deals with the broader issue of distracted driving.”

An Alberta Motor Association spokesman called the upcoming distracted driving law “a Christmas present for Albertans.” … A trade group for truckers who work in Alberta is seeking clarification on the rule regarding CB radios and mobile dispatching and routing terminals. Goverment officials reportedly admitted some aspects of the law affecting truckers were not thought through.

The fall debate over Bill 16 focused on whether hands-free phone use should be allowed at all. MLA Dave Taylor’s bid to amend the bill to remove that exemption failed. MLA Art Johnson, who introduced Bill 16, said the province should proceed without a total cell phone ban and revisit the issue: “We’ll be reviewing (hands-free) in the future and the way technology is evolving, this could change even next year.”

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.

In October 2010, Stelmach warned that license demerit points would be “the next step” if his government’s plan to stop distracted driving doesn’t work. The demerits would affect insurance premiums, although the current Bill 16 does not include those sanctions.

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.

The president of Canada’s Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons says the new Alberta law “is misguided. It’s dangerous and it’s going to kill more lives than it saves. (Legislators) should be ashamed of themselves.” Dr. Louis Francescutti says allowing cell phone use with hands-free devices gives drivers a false sense of security when in fact hands-free use is as dangerous as handheld cell phone use.

Strathcona County’s ban on texting and handheld cell phone use while driving began Sept. 1, 2009. The county bylaw was 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.)

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)

Canadians: Ban phones, save money

The distracted driving debate rarely comes down to money, but a Canadian study finds that a ban on cell phones can have economic benefits in addition to saving lives.

The University of Calgary’s Faculty of Medicine says its home province of Alberta could produce an annual savings of $36 million a year by instituting a cell phone ban.

The breakdown is $6 million in lower health care costs and $30 million in savings on clearing away wreckage from vehicle crashes. The lead researcher called the revenue proposition “a no-brainer” for the province.

But the costs of a ban on using cell phones while driving would be $20.5 million annually. This includes awareness campaigns, manpower and other costs of enforcement, and $14 million in calls (“lost consumer surplus”) that would not be made by drivers. The $14 million would not be direct costs, but revenue losses suffered by mobile telecommunications providers.

Economics are sometimes inserted into the debates on distracted driving legislation, with supporters pointing to the monetary gains from tickets and court costs. In California, for instance, a proposed doubling of fines for texting and handheld cell phone use could have brought the state another $32 million annually, a panel found. (The plan was defeated.)

Critics often accuse lawmakers who approve distracted driving bans of seeking revenue through traffic fines.

Alberta has been widely criticized for foot-dragging on distracted driving laws while six other provinces have enacted bans on text messaging and cell phones. (British Columbia, Newfoundland, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan.)

The province government’s Bill 16, which would ban handheld cell phone use and texting, is up for debate in the Legislature. The bill seeks a $172 fine for various distracted driving activities.

Study author Dr. Alan Shiell (pictured) said he had mixed feels about Bill 16: “Personally, I would introduce a complete ban. It may inconvenience drivers a little but that is more than offset by the risk of a crash and the costs and harms associated with crashes.”

As for the study’s unusual economic angle, Shiell says: “I hope this research sheds some new light on the issue.”

The UC study assumed 4,450 fewer collisions annually in Alberta and 15 fewer deaths. It was first published in the September issue of the journal Health Economics.

Election hot button: distracted driving

Distracted driving has yet to emerge as an election issue in the U.S., but it’s making news on the campaign trail in Canada’s New Brunswick province.

The current Liberal government has come under fire once again for its foot-dragging in enacting specific distracted driving laws. New Brunswick remains one of two Canadian provinces without laws against text messaging while driving.

Political Conservatives have said several times during their campaign for the fall election that they’ll promptly enact distracted driving legislation if victorious in the fall.

The issue hit the front burner Sept. 6 with the death of a young man on the Trans-Canada Highway. The driver was sending a text message when he lost control of his car and crashed into a rock wall, a passenger told police.

Progressive Conservative Leader David Alward charged that the Liberals “have had an opportunity for the last few years to bring (cell phone and texting laws) forward. We’ve asked many times the minister what his position was on it.”

Liberal Leader Shawn Graham vowed that there were would be “a comprehensive piece of legislation to deal with texting, to deal with cellphones while driving and a number of other distractions that can occur behind the wheel.”

CBC News noted that the Public Safety Department had long resisted a New Brunswick ban on cellphone use while driving, focusing instead on public education. At one point it announced plans to see how distracted driving laws worked out in other provinces before taking any action.

Alward told the Times & Transcript that “New Brunswick is one of the last jurisdictions that still allows it. It is unsafe and for the protection of all our citizens, it’s necessary to do.” His party brought up the issue over the summer.

A local politician, David Kelly of Fredericton, recently asked: “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?”

New Brunswick’s general election is set for Sept. 27.

Alberta also has no laws against use of handheld cell phones and text messaging. The government has said it will debate the issue this fall.

Ontario reins in handheld devices

Ontario drivers who like to yak and text on handheld cell phones have about six months to cure themselves of the habits.

(Update: The Ontario ban on handheld electronics for drivers went into effect Monday, Oct. 26. This post is about the bill passing.)

The Legislature gave final approval Wednesday to a ban on texting and using handheld devices behind the wheel. Prohibited activities include emailing, watching DVDs, fooling with MP3 players and video gaming.

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

“What we’re trying to do is to avoid distractions while people are driving — those distractions being caused, in this case, by electronic devices that are hand-held,” said Transportation Minister Jim Bradle.

Fine would be as much as $500 (CAN). There are no points charged to the license under this law, but drivers who endanger others while using electronic devices could face 6 points and fines up to $1,000.

Premier Dalton McGuinty had opposed the plan, but it gained momentum since introduction last fall. Local media reported that the intent of the handheld device ban is to get the law in place before the onset of winter driving.

The provinces of Quebec, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador all have adopted bans on driving and using electronic devices.

Canadian distracted driving updates

Canada cell phone/texting overview: Distracted driving laws have been enacted in all Canadian provinces, with restrictions similar to those being adopted in the United States. Alberta’s law against a wide variety of distracted driving behaviors began Sept. 1. New Brunswick’s distracted driving law is now in effect.

These Canadian provinces have active laws against use of handheld cell phones and/or text messaging while driving — Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland/Labrador. Newfoundland (2002) was the first province to adopt a distracted driving law, and Alberta (2011) the last.

Here’s an update on the provinces and territories.

• The Northwest Territory’s ban on handheld electronic devices took effect Jan. 1, 2012. The fine is $100 with 3 demerit points to the driver’s license.
• New Brunswick’s distracted driving law took effect June 6, 2011. The law prohibits drivers from using handheld cell phones and texting devices. There is no warning period and officers are writing tickets. View the New Brunswick distracted driving news roundup.
• Alberta’s sweeping law targeting distracted drivers took effect Sept. 1, 2011. The government’s Bill 16 was approved in mid-November. View the latest article on the new Alberta driving laws and the Alberta distracted driving news roundup.
• The Yukon Territory’s ban on drivers’ use of cell phones and “similar electronic devices” went into effect April 1, 2011. Fines up to $250.
• 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. The fine is $280 plus 4 points against the driver’s license.
• British Columbia’s bans on handheld cell phone use and text messaging while driving became law Jan. 1, 2010, with fines of $167. View the British Columbia distracted driving news page.
• Manitoba’s cell phone/texting law went into effect July 15, 2010.
• Ontario’s law against text messaging and using handheld cell phones while driving went into full effect in February 2010. View the Ontario distracted driving news roundup.

Canadian distracted driving news (2012):
Saskatchewan: In the first 18 months of the province’s cell phone and texting law, almost 3,500 drivers were convicted of violations. The law became effective Jan. 1, 2010. Officials say a quarter of crashes in the province are linked to distracted driving and it is the No. 1 traffic danger. A deadly car-truck crash on Highway 14 near Grandora was being investigated as the result of a woman’s cell phone use. The Langham woman and her young daughter died in the January 2012 accident.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall says the province’s efforts against distracted driving won’t be extended to a total ban on cell phones. “This is a serious issue, but we need to be able to say at some point it’s up to individuals to be careful when they drive,” Wall told reporters Jan. 31.

Canadian distracted driving notes (2011):
Texting and cell phoning behind the wheel are among the most annoying driving habits cited by Canadians, an Automobile Association poll found. Text messaging came in third, cited by 85 percent of those polled (behind road rage and cutting off other drivers). Talking on cell phones came in fifth, with 78 percent annoyed by the practice. The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) polled 5,044 Canadians.

Saskatchewan drivers ranked distracted driving above impaired driving as a roadway danger. 94 percent cited electronic distracted driving as a major problem in the Saskatchewan Government Insurance survey taken in September.

Manitoba’s cell phone and texting law went into effect a year ago, but an automobile association study suggests that not much has changed in terms of distracted driving. Almost all of the 11,000 surveyed (99.4 percent) report that they still see other motorists talking on handheld cell phones or text messaging while driving. More than half of the 11,000 say they witness violations of the distracted driving law every day. (The Manitoba law went into effect July 15, 2010.)

CAA Manitoba’s survey also found that almost half of the motorists say they owned a hands-free accessory (such as a Bluetooth headset). 58 percent are in favor of adding points against a violator’s drivers license and 68 percent say it was unlikely that violators would be stopped and cited. All things considered, however, half of the respondents say they believe that the Manitoba roads are safer with the new distracted driving law. “Our members have identified distracted driving as the No. 1 road-safety concern,” a spokeswoman for CAA Manitoba said. “We continue to support this law because it reminds motorists to shut out distractions and focus on their only job while behind the wheel: driving.”

New Brunswick’s bans on text messaging and handheld cell phone use while driving took effect June 6 with no warning period. The RCMP in New Brunswick reported that about 50 tickets were written in the two weeks after the law took effect. (Read more about the New Brunswick texting & cell phone ban.)

The Northwest Territory’s legislators approved regulations against electronic distracted driving in August, amending the Motor Vehicles Act. The new driving rules take effect Jan. 1, 2012. They will ban use of handheld electronic devices while behind the wheel, with a fine of $100 plus 3 demerits.

The MLA for Yellowknife Centre is among a handful of legislators who had been pushing for a distracted driving law in the Northwest Territory. “I’m starting to wonder that perhaps maybe the (minister of Transportation) is waiting until cell phones become obsolete,” Robert Hawkins quipped in October 2010. The minister, Michael McLeod, previously said NWT distracted driving laws were not needed because many areas don’t have cell phone coverage.

The Yukon ban on drivers’ talking and texting via handheld cell phones and “similar electronic devices” went into effect April 1, 2011, with no grace period. Fines up to $250 with a possible 3 points against the driver’s license. Violators in the territory’s graduated driver’s license program will have to begin again.

During the debate on the Yukon bans, Liberal MLA Darius Elias told lawmakers: “I don’t want the Yukon to be the last jurisdiction in Canada to protect its citizens in this way.”

About 87 percent of Yukoners approved of a the ban against use of hand-held cell phones while driving, transportation officials said just before the vote was taken. The study of 1,600 drivers found that 94 percent wanted other hand-held electronic devices devices outlawed as well.

More distracted driving notes (background):
In Saskatchewan in 2010, there were about 8,500 collisions linked to distracted driving, with 60 deaths and about 2,300 injuries.

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.

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.

Regina, Saskatchewan, police say they wrote almost 500 tickets for cell phone use in 2010. 31 warnings were handed out as well.

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.

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

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)

Canadian docs want cell phone crackdown

With or without a hands-free device, motorists are at a significantly greater risk of getting into a serious accident when they use a cell phone and drive, a new study says.

The Ontario Medical Association called on its provincial government to enact laws reducing the cell phone dangers. The Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, and Nova Scotia have banned the use of hand-held cell phones.

“Doctors know all too well the consequences of driving while distracted,” OMA president Ken Arnold said.

The group stated: “The OMA has found evidence that cell phone use (regardless of whether it is hands-free or hand-held) has a significant impact on the driver’s cognitive functions, visual concentration, the speed at which they can process information and, as a result, their reaction time.”

The research found that using a cell phone while driving:

• Greatly reduced the driver’s functional field of view
• Changed average driving speed
• Decreased the “safe distance” between vehicles
• Slowed brake reaction time
• Slowed response times to traffic light changes
• Resulted in a 15% increase in non-response to stoplights
• Reduced visual monitoring of mirrors and instruments
• Resulted in fewer inspection glances at traffic lights
• Produced an increased tendency toward hard braking.

The OMA noted it is clear that any activity such as dialing, typing or reading a text message is unsafe for drivers and those around them.

Opponents of cell phone legislation no doubt will point out that this was a “review of literature,” not new research. (Regardless, the OMA story has been getting good play in newspapers and online.)

So why weigh in?

“We believe it is the role of physicians to investigate the health impacts of societal activities, such as driving while using your phone, and to report these publicly,” the OMA said. “Sometimes the evidence is conclusive enough to require physicians to challenge the status quo and champion the health and safety of their patients by calling for legislative action.”

In August 2008, the Alberta Medical Association endorsed a bill that would ban hand-held cell phone use while driving.

The medical association voiced its support before a legislative committee reviewing Bill 204, the Traffic Safety Amendment Act. The Alberta doctors called for outlawing use of hands-free cell phones as well.

That private member’s bill from Calgary Tory MLA Art Johnston was killed by the committee in early October. The panel instead urged remedies that include all major driving distractions.

“I personally think the biggest distraction is a cellphone, and text messaging,” Johnston told the Calgary Herald. “We still have people very, very divided on it, but I believe in it and I’m going to do the best I can until it’s (legislated).”

On Oct. 4, Alberta Tories rejected two resolutions restricting the use of cell phones and other wireless devices while driving. One would have banned all cell phone use by motorists while the other targeted only hand-held cell phones. Premier Ed Stelmach is opposed to cell phone bans, citing the usual array of distracted driving hazards beyond making calls.

The maritime province of Prince Edward Island is debating an islandwide ban on hand-held cell phone use while driving. Transportation and Public Works Minister Ron MacKinley has prepared legislation that also seeks to outlaw text messaging and a variety of other electronic distractions, including use of pagers and iPods.