Drivers will have to stop reading newspapers and applying eyeliner during their morning commutes if a new Alberta law passes as proposed.
The provincial government introduced new legislation this week to prohibit drivers from engaging in most forms of electronic communication as well as activities like reading, writing and personal grooming.
Local RCMP welcome the move.
“It’s long overdue. We’re in support of any legislation that’s going to make our roads safer,” said Cpl. Don Murray, who heads the St. Albert RCMP’s traffic unit.
The law rules out some specific activities but is meant to cover any action that distracts drivers from the road. For electronic devices, it makes exceptions for emergency personnel and drivers working at a job that requires two-way communication or dispatching.
The law would allow the use of global positioning systems if they are pre-programmed and aren’t being held in the driver’s hands. It would also allow hands-free use of cellphones.
“I’m a little surprised,” said Murray, citing studies that show any form of cellphone use, whether hands-free or hand-held, raises the risk of a collision by four times.
“It’s not the physical act of actually holding the cellphone that’s a problem. It’s the fact that your attention isn’t on driving,” Murray said.
Earlier this year, Alberta’s department of transportation spoke as if the legislation would address hands-free operation. But Transportation Minister Luke Ouellette said that measure was left out to keep the legislation balanced and because it was the least enforceable aspect of distracted driving.
Murray acknowledged that enforcing hands-free operation would be difficult.
“If it’s difficult to enforce. I think part of the key is public education too,” he said.
The bill passed first reading before the spring session ended this week and will see debate in the fall. Violators would face $172 fines but no demerit points.
If the law passes, enforcement would likely take the form of co-ordinated campaigns and officers on general patrol pulling over offenders, Murray said.
Alberta and New Brunswick are the only provinces in Canada that don’t restrict drivers’ use of cellphones.
“Even though we’re almost last in bringing something in, we’re probably first in bringing the broader definition. I think that’s important,” said St. Albert MLA Ken Allred.
Allred chaired a legislative committee that reviewed a proposed cellphone driving ban in 2008. The committee recommended that legislation be scrapped in favour of measures to address the broader issue of distracted driving.
“The only concern I’ve got is the length of time it took to get it here,” Allred said. “I’m really pleased to see it tabled.”
Two years ago Allred expressed concern about hands-free use but he’s not saying that now.
“I don’t believe there’s any legislation anywhere in the world that deals specifically with hands-free,” he said.
