Distracted drivers in Alberta can keep their cellphones
Posted Mar 13, 2013 7:41 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Drivers in our province who are caught talking or texting won’t have their phones taken away.
Police in British Columbia have made a request to that government to expand officers’ power, so they can seize mobile phones from drivers for 24 hours if they’re caught using it behind the wheel.
While Alberta Transportation Minister Ric McIver thinks the idea is interesting, it’s not something he really wants to entertain.
McIver tells 660News the current rules are being monitored and at some point they may look at finding a way to inspire or coerce a driver to comply with the rules.
One suggestion involves hitting distracted drivers in the pocket book by increasing the $172 fine.
A spokesman for Solicitor General Jonathan Denis says the government needs more time to look at the evidence.
The remarks come months after a suggestion from the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police to introduce demerit points with the penalty.
Denis says he wants to see the first year stats and results of any efforts to diminish the number of distracted drivers before he makes a decision.
The province recently introduced a “Crotches Kill” campaign on billboards, posters, even urinal pucks to get people to put down the mobile device.
It costs $380,000 and reminds drivers that using a mobile device, even on your lap, is still against the law.
