Hand-held cell phones to be illegal for drivers in Quebec, N.S.

[Praxius]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2008/03/31/cell-phones.html

Quebec and Nova Scotia drivers will have to put down their cell phones after midnight Monday, as the provinces implement new regulations effective Tuesday.

Use of hands-free cell phones while driving will still be allowed in both provinces, and police will not be handing out fines for using the banned phones until July.

For the first three months, people chatting on the phone while driving will be given a warning.

As of July 1, however, that illicit call will cost a $100 fine and three demerit points.
The punishment for breaking the law in Nova Scotia is more severe, with police there handing out a $164 fine for the first offence.

The Nova Scotia fines go up to $222 for a second offence, and then $337 for each additional one.

Some critics say the law doesn't go far enough, arguing that the use of hands-free phones is just as distracting for drivers.

It's about damn time too.

But the Hands Free one's are no more of a distraction then someone sitting in the car talking to you.... I don't have an issue with them, so long as you have both your hands free and you can still move your head/eyes effectively to see what's going on.

I can't wait to see some of these idiots in their giant SUV's yapping away on their cell phones getting pulled over and getting their arses fined..... of course, they have to be paying attention to the road in order to notice a cop trying to pull them over.

 

[#juan]

What great news. I can't wait for it to happen in B.C.. I don't know how many times I have been cut-off, or nearly hit, by some d-ckhead who was busy with his cell phone.

 

[lone wolf]

In heavy traffic or lousy driving conditions, just taking your mind off the road to talk - whether it be on the phone or to the person sitting beside you - is dividing your concentration. Sometimes, cussin' out other cars is safer....

Woof!

 

[MikeyDB]

Yeah!

Why hasn't anyone pointed out the difficulty of using hand gestures (the bird) and gesticulating when you talk, drinking a Timmy's and smoking a cigar while you're driving!

It's beyond reason that people are expected to put up with all this nonsense!

Timmy's should be serving java in IV bags.... Cell phone providers should be providing cranial implants...and Quebecer's should learn to drive with their attitudes.... after all isn't it the "attitude" that's made them famous...?

 

[DurkaDurka]

Mikey, you should consider patenting the Automobile coffee IV drip, combined with a virtual reality goggles to help you see the road clearer, you would have a winner on your hands.

 

[Praxius]

Mikey, you should consider patenting the Automobile coffee IV drip, combined with a virtual reality goggles to help you see the road clearer, you would have a winner on your hands.

Until the goggle's bust and then all you see is a black screen or the dredded "BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH!"

 

[DurkaDurka]

Until the goggle's bust and then all you see is a black screen.

lol, as long as the coffee drip keeps pumping...

 

[eh1eh]

I've had many encounters with people yapping to their passenger and weaving down the road. Cell phones are a small bit less a distraction as you don't need to turn your head to look at the person you are talking to.

Will they be making talking to your passenger illeagal too. I sure hope so.

 

[eh1eh]

Until the goggle's bust and then all you see is a black screen or the dredded "BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH!"

They could have an emergency switch for morphine so you never feel the crash.

 

[DurkaDurka]

As long as they don't take away the right to pleasure one's self in his auto, I can support this.

 

[MikeyDB]

WOW what a great idea!

Outlaw conversations in automobiles!

I'll bet the number of mothers-in-law found in ditches would go down!

Side-seat and back-seat drivers would need pacemakers....

Children would need muzzles and of course the wife.......

Never mind.....

 

[Praxius]

I've had many encounters with people yapping to their passenger and weaving down the road. Cell phones are a small bit less a distraction as you don't need to turn your head to look at the person you are talking to.

Will they be making talking to your passenger illeagal too. I sure hope so.

Hmmm.... I never look at the people in my vehicle when I am driving. Eyes have always been on the road, hands on the wheel. If they start horsing around or distracting me, to the curb they go and they can walk. I never have a problem talking and driving.... but a cell in one hand not only allows that factor of not having all the control you would have with two in case of an emergency.... but you're usually limiting your view and how much your turn your head when looking left or right along the road.

Eating and putting your makeup on while driving is just about as equally stupid, which I never done either (must be due to my driver's ed) and should be banned too.

 

[eh1eh]

Well I hate to tell you this Praxis, well not really but, I've been eating, driving a 5-ton truck in the city of Toronto, talking on the cell phone and writing something down at the same time. Oh, I also have well over a million accident free miles too. There is a skill and expeience factor involved. Most car drivers think they are so careful, blah blah, but maybe if they drove for a living they would see just how inept they really are.

 

[Praxius]

Well myself, I treat a vehicle as something to get me to point A to point B with as little dilly dallying as possible.

I was never one to just go crusing around town because I had nothing better to do.

Not saying that's what you do, just trying to relate your mentality with my own in a slight different perspective.

 

[MHz]

So I guess the market is now open for a self navigating vehicle.

 

[Stretch]

if one cant use a cell while driving then I assume the cops cant use their computors to check rego numbers on cars then while driving, fairs fair afterall.

 

[Praxius]

if one cant use a cell while driving then I assume the cops cant use their computors to check rego numbers on cars then while driving, fairs fair afterall.

Saw a report today where officers in NS were showing their Bluetooths and one button activation tools they will be using now. Also they have voice command for their systems now..... it was kinda interesting.

And I imagine they could get something as simple as Microsoft's Text To Speech or Mac's version to speak out the information they require.

 

[Praxius]

Additional News:

No April Fool's: Drop the cigarette and cellphone
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2008/04/01/ns-april1laws.html

Starting Tuesday, drivers in Nova Scotia must butt out when children and teens are present and put down their cellphones.

Anyone caught smoking in a vehicle with someone under the age of 19 — even if the window or door is open — could be hit with a fine of nearly $400.

Steve Machat, tobacco control manager with Nova Scotia Health Promotion and Protection, said a campaign is in the works to educate drivers about the hazards of second-hand smoke, particularly its effect on children.

But motorists should not expect to see police setting up smoking traps on highways, he added.

"We're not expecting police agencies to go out and do stand-alone enforcement procedures around this. We're not expecting them to go down the 101, 103, the 102 or any of the highways, chasing after people smoking," Machat said.

As with any traffic law, police officers have the discretion to issue a ticket to offenders.
Const. Jeff Carr, spokesman for Halifax Regional Police, said there is no grace period, though it's possible officers would issue a warning.

"But you can't anticipate that. It's the law as of that date and if you're pulled over and in violation, you're running the risk of a ticket," he said.

As of April 1, it's also illegal in Nova Scotia to talk on a hand-held phone or send text messages while driving. However, using a wireless device is allowed in an emergency.

Fines for violating the cellphone ban start at around $165, rising to $222 for a second offence and $337 for each additional one.

 

[eh1eh]

Well myself, I treat a vehicle as something to get me to point A to point B with as little dilly dallying as possible.

I was never one to just go crusing around town because I had nothing better to do.

Not saying that's what you do, just trying to relate your mentality with my own in a slight different perspective.

Ya, I just cruised around in a 5-ton truck for a million miles because I had nothing better to do.:roll:

I was earning a living. You failed to associate the logic of driving a big truck and work. I suppose you may not even know what a 5-ton truck is. Or you didn't read my post and only skimmed over it and said the first thing that popped into your head.

 

[johai]

Ya, I just cruised around in a 5-ton truck for a million miles because I had nothing better to do.:roll:

I was earning a living. You failed to associate the logic of driving a big truck and work. I suppose you may not even know what a 5-ton truck is. Or you didn't read my post and only skimmed over it and said the first thing that popped into your head.

Bad dude.