Winnipeg Free Press > Local > Ban on cellphone use while driving a year away

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Ban on cellphone use while driving a year away

By: Bruce Owen and Gabrielle Giroday

18/11/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 21

IT will likely be illegal to drive and talk on a cellphone in Manitoba by this time next year.

Provincial lawmakers are still putting the legal wording into place, but they hope a ban on using a cellphone or texting while driving will begin to be enforced in the fall of 2010.

Dangerous messages

THE Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project released a survey this week on teen cellphone use in the United States. It found:

One in three texting teens aged 16-17 say they have texted while driving. That translates into 26 per cent of all American teens aged 16-17.

Half of cell-owning teens aged 16-17 say they have talked on a cellphone while driving. That's 43 per cent of all American teens aged 16-17.

48 per cent of teens aged 12-17 say they have been in a car when the driver was texting.

40 per cent say they have been in a car when the driver used a cellphone in a way that put someone in danger.

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The proposed fines are $191 for talking or text messaging on a handheld device, a spokesman for Transportation Minister Steve Ashton said.

The same bill also bans smoking in a vehicle with a child under 16.

Confirmation of when the new laws will be enforced came a day after a Jeep with six occupants rolled over on Grant Avenue.

People at the scene near Shaftesbury High School reported the 18-year-old driver was talking on a cellphone when he lost control.

On Tuesday, police said they could not confirm the crash was linked to cellphone use, but they're treating it as a possibility.

"We're not at the stage of the investigation where we're able to confirm that," Winnipeg Police Service Const. Jason Michalyshen said.

He said officers were looking into whether the vehicle was speeding.

A 16-year-old boy, two 15-year-old girls, a 15-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl were also in the vehicle when it lost control. Several people were ejected, meaning they were not wearing seatbelts. The Jeep is not a six-passenger vehicle.

Michalyshen said the driver will be treated as an adult if he is charged, and the registered owner of the car could be legally liable.

"Everyone has to take some responsibility here," he said.

The officer added there is no evidence alcohol or intoxicants were involved.

Manitoba introduced legislation a year ago to ban cellphone use while driving. The law has been passed but the government opted for a public education campaign lasting several months before enforcement of the law begins.

Last week, Saskatchewan tabled legislation to ban cellphones and texting while driving. The penalty will be $280 and four demerits. In Ontario, the cellphone ban starts Feb. 1. Drivers could face fines of up to $500. In B.C., offenders will be fined $167 as of Feb. 1 if caught texting or emailing. They will also receive three penalty points on their driving records.

bruce.owen@freepress.mb.ca gabrielle giroday@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 18, 2009 A3

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21 Commentscomment icon

While we wait for cell phone use while driving to be made legally unacceptable, we all have the power to start a trend of making cell phone use while driving SOCIALLY unacceptable.

If you see someone driving another vehicle while using a cell phone, give them a honk and a dirty look. I'm not encouraging road rage - just a little shame. If you are a person (of any age) in the vehicle with a driver who picks up their cell phone to talk or text, make a big deal about it and insist that they put it away. Laws take a long time to create and can't be enforced 100% of the time anyway. So in the presence of people who refuse to do the right thing on their own accord, let's make it UNCOOL to endanger life.

I will admit I'm not the best of drivers. I know my limitations and because of it I won't talk and drive.

And there are plenty of other distractions, I think two other at the top list besides cell phones, is putting on makeup (including checking out your makeup) and smoking.

And by the way, I'm a woman and I can't believe how many women drivers I see putting on makeup. It should be done at home.

would this apply to police officers taking personal calls as well?

what's the policy on police officers and other government employees smoking in a government motor vehicle? anyone?

I fully support the ban on cellphone use while driving. They should also include demerit points as well.

Perhaps when we finally realize that the standards to obtain a drivers licence in Canada are a complete joke, that the licence could be just as valid as the prize in a box of Cracker Jack, we'll understand that driving time is for DRIVING, not multitasking.

whosays said:
"I am a good driver. Talking on a cell phone or talking to a passenger is the same for me. What the hell is the difference? I've been driving for 25 years and I never have two hands on the wheel."

Hate to break this to you whosays, you are most definitely not a good driver. We'll be reading about your car wreck in the paper soon enough.

Ever hear anyone say they are a bad driver? No, everyone is a "good driver" in their view. Despite all the so called good drivers out there there were THIRTY THOUSAND car crashes in Manitoba last year.

Anyone who thinks they can text and drive safely at the same time is an idiot.

Lana it's somehow more dangerous to hold a cell phone. Whatever.

Burgers, makeup, drinks, crossword puzzles, it doesn't matter. You're either a good driver, or you're not.

I am a good driver. Talking on a cell phone or talking to a passenger is the same for me. What the hell is the difference? I've been driving for 25 years and I never have two hands on the wheel.

Either you can manage or you can't . Know your limits. But don't tell me my driving suffers because I'm on the phone. You don't know me.

@jaydee - This is the way it is written in the article above "Manitoba introduced legislation a year ago to ban cellphone use while driving." to me that means talking and texting!

@WpgGal: Ok, so then why haven't they made the following illegal?

- Changing radio stations
- Using a GPS device
- Eating a sandwich, or apple, etc.
- Drinking a coffee or other beverage
- Listening to loud music

They all require some sort of fumbling with only one hand on the wheel and/or distraction or reduced auditory perception.

@Lana: Sure, but they didn't ban talking on cell phones, they banned holding a cell phone next to your ear. It will still be legal to talk on the phone so long as you use speakerphone or some other hands free device.

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