Love it or hate it, Alberta’s new distracted driving law is here to stay, and while the reaction to it is mixed, hopefully it will be embraced by motorists quicker than the seatbelt legislation that was enacted more than 20 years ago.
Opponents have derided the distracted driving legislation as social engineering and the government sticking its nose too far into people's lives. This is a predictable reaction for any law legislating a common activity like driving, which the majority of people do every day to earn a living. Humans are, by nature, resistant to change; one needs look no further than provincial seatbelt legislation for proof. There are still many people who vehemently refuse to buckle up, despite the evidence saying it increases safety. But those who have grown up with the law are more likely to do up their belts, no questions asked.
Police will not be out specifically looking for distracted driving infractions. There may be targeted crackdowns on long weekends, but cops will not be hiding behind billboards looking for drivers on cellphones. If it's obvious and dangerous, then yes, you'll probably get pulled over, but it's a big stretch to say that police are expecting a windfall of cash from tickets.
Take the St. Albert RCMP detachment, for example. They issued a total of five distracted driving tickets over the weekend, but those were in conjunction with a targeted seatbelt campaign. Four were for using a handheld cellphone while driving, while the other was for texting while driving.
One RCMP member recalled seeing a woman driving in downtown St. Albert with a phone in one hand and a coffee in the other — which, of course, leaves neither on the steering wheel. Anyone who’s driven down the St. Albert Trail during the morning commute has seen all the examples. People reading the newspaper while driving 80 km/h. The countless number of women putting on their makeup, faces pressed close to the mirror in their visor so they get the eyeshadow just right. Men shaving. The guy speeding merrily along, steering with his knees while he eats breakfast. And this doesn’t even touch the cellphones and texting.
It may seem that it’s a few bad apples spoiling the bunch, but it’s far more pervasive than that. A lot of drivers may not personally consider themselves poor or distracted drivers, but the problem with driving is that you can do everything right in your car and still wind up in a life-threatening situation. It's the guy in the other car who loses his focus for a split second who may have your life in his hands. And if police have another tool to make sure that guy keeps his attention on the road, then all the better.
Some may argue this law is another case of the government sticking its nose into people's lives, but the government has it right. For too long, drivers have gotten away with dangerous habits that threaten the lives of those around them. There are plenty of examples of distracted drivers seriously injuring or killing their own passengers, pedestrians or persons in other vehicles.
Distracted driving can be as dangerous as impaired driving. It makes no sense to have a law for one and not the other.
