Is the law working?
Alberta’s distracted driving law went into effect two years ago, on Sept. 1, 2011.
Drivers are prohibited from using hand-held cellphones, texting, emailing, writing and personal grooming. The law also bans drivers from using any device, such as music players or GPS units, that requires more than a single touch. The penalty is $172, but no demerit points are deducted, unlike in Saskatchewan where the fine is $280 plus four demerit points.
At the time the law went into force, Anthony Singhal, a psychology and neuroscience professor at the University of Alberta who has done considerable research into distracted driving and how the brain reacts to multi-tasking, said it was too bad that it didn’t extend to hands-free cellphone use because “all the research shows that hand-held and hands-free are equally distracting.” However, he believed that the new legislation would help change the culture around using a cellphone while behind the wheel.
That doesn’t seem to have been the case in our city.
In 2012, Edmonton police laid more than twice as many distracted driving charges (4,613) as they made impaired driving arrests (2,213). As of September 30, this year, 3,664 drivers have already been charged with distracted driving — but there is a lag of a few weeks in data logging, meaning the numbers could be higher. And there is still a quarter of the year left.
Drivers complied with the law early on, but now they are simply masking their use, says Dean Shwaga, acting sergeant in the Edmonton Police Service’s traffic division. “They tend to hide it, holding phones in their lap, which can be more dangerous,” he says.