National rules on distracted driving sought
MONTREAL — Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau is calling for creation of a tough national standard to penalize distracted drivers using their cellphones on the road.
Garneau said Wednesday that having consistent national rules, with stiffer fines and demerit points, could address the growing number of incidents across the country.
While dangerous driving is covered under the Criminal Code, cases involving distraction are a provincial responsibility. Fines and demerit points vary widely from province to province.
Provincial penalties for distracted driving range from $80 to $100 plus three demerit points in Quebec to a maximum fine of $1,200 and five demerit points in Prince Edward Island, according to the Canadian Automobile Association.
Beginning June 1, 2016, B.C. more than doubled the fine for using hand-held electronic devices while driving to $368 from $167, while the number of demerit points increased to four from three.
Cellphones and handheld electronic devices are banned while driving in all provinces, Yukon and the Northwest Territories, but there is no prohibition on driving while using hands-free devices.
“I would like it to be treated very, very seriously because to put it in simple terms, I consider that driving requires 100 per cent of your attention,” Garneau told reporters before heading to Washington for a meeting with U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.
The minister recently sent a letter to his provincial counterparts urging them to agree to tougher and uniform penalties for texting and talking on cellphones while driving.
“Having robust and nationally consistent enforcement measures and penalties will help mitigate the negative impact of this increasingly pervasive problem on Canada’s roads,” he said in the three-page letter dated Feb. 21.
While Garneau has yet to get a response from provinces, he said governments need to act quickly to address this growing problem.