In September 2011, the Alberta government implemented the Distracting Driving Law. The law applies to cars, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, truck tractors, farm vehicles and bicycles. It was put in place in hopes of stopping drivers from:
•using hand-held cell phones
•texting or e-mailing (even when stopped at red lights – despite what many think)
•using electronic devices like laptop computers, video games, cameras, video entertainment displays and programming portable audio players (e.g., MP3 players)
•entering information on GPS units
•reading printed materials in the vehicle
•writing, printing or sketching
•personal grooming (brushing and flossing teeth, putting on makeup, curling hair, clipping nails or shaving)
This law applies to all roads in both urban and rural areas of the Alberta and those getting caught breaking this law have been subject to ticket of $287. However, the Alberta government has recently added another form of punishment to accompany the hefty fine.
Effective January 1, 2016, if you are busted for distracted driving, offenders will also be hit with three demerit points, along with the $287 fine. However, any charges or convictions laid before January 1, 2016 will result in a $287 fine but no demerit points (regardless of whether the ticket is paid before or after January 1).
In a speech to the media on Wednesday December 9th, Transportation Minister Brian Mason said, “Traffic safety is critical and all drivers have to make sure that they’re paying attention to their driving and that they’re obeying traffic laws, including distracted driving. It’s a leading cause of accidents and the government certainly wants to do something about it.”
In a news conference on Thursday December 10th held in Edmonton, the transportation Minister said, “People continue to drive while distracted on our roads and highways. This is unacceptable and puts everyone on the road at risk.”
Government statistics show that there have been close to 80,000 convictions since Alberta began levying fines on distracted drivers until this March. The research also showed that most of those that were convicted, went on to continue to use a hand held device while driving.
There were 27,417 convictions for distracted driving in the 2014-15 year, which is a five per cent increase from the previous year.
Distracted driving includes using hand-held phones, texting, emailing, reading, writing, grooming or typing in GPS co-ordinates while driving. However, it’s interesting to know that smoking, talking on a hands-free phone, engaging in conversations with passengers, drinking a coffee, eating, using two-way radios or listening to music are not considered acts of distracted driving. And for those that have always wondered if having your pet in the vehicle could be distracted driving, Transportation Alberta states, “In situations where the driver becomes too involved with their pet, police could reasonably argue that the distraction is comparable to the specifically banned activities of reading, writing and grooming and lay a charge”.
It’s also interesting to know that under the Traffic Safety Act, an emergency vehicle includes police service vehicles, fire response units, ambulances and gas disconnection units. Drivers of emergency vehicles are able to use hand-held communication devices or other electronic devices only when acting within the scope of their employment.
The Transportation Alberta website explained how the demerits will effect drivers by saying, “Should a driver receive too many demerit points, their driver’s licence is suspended. Drivers in the Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) Program are suspended when they collect eight or more points. Fully licensed drivers are suspended when they collect 15 or more points”.
