Edmonton may be first to outlaw handheld cells while driving

Avatar photo

EDMONTON, Alta. — A city councillor is aggressively pushing to make Edmonton the first Canadian city to ban drivers from using handheld cellular phones.

Yesterday, Coun. Dave Thiele asked bureaucrats to enact a traffic bylaw, armed with fines of about $100, levied against chatty drivers.

“I think it’s an important item we should be looking at,” Thiele tells local media. “It’s becoming more and more rampant, just from my personal observations. And talking to other people who’ve had lots of near misses.”

The Alberta Motor Association is in favor of a ban. In fact, they suggest taking it one step further and banning the use of hands-free devices while driving, too.

“Whether or not you have hands-free or handheld, it’s dumb and it’s unsafe and you shouldn’t do it,” AMA spokesman Dan VanKeeken says matter-of-factly. “The bigger problem is the mental distraction.”

A survey last fall indicated that about 81 per cent of Canadians are in favor of a ban on handheld cell phones while driving.

Avatar photo

Truck News is Canada's leading trucking newspaper - news and information for trucking companies, owner/operators, truck drivers and logistics professionals working in the Canadian trucking industry.


Have your say


This is a moderated forum. Comments will no longer be published unless they are accompanied by a first and last name and a verifiable email address. (Today's Trucking will not publish or share the email address.) Profane language and content deemed to be libelous, racist, or threatening in nature will not be published under any circumstances.

*