No Fooling Around: NS drivers must hang up by April 1
HALIFAX — In a little over two weeks it will be illegal for drivers to use hand-held cell phones or text messaging devices while behind the wheel in Nova Scotia.
Effective April 1, 2008, RCMP officers will begin slapping drivers with steep fines for talking on the phone while driving. Truckers and travelers can only use a hands-free function while operating a vehicle.
The fines range from $50 for a first offence, $100 for the second and $200 for the third and subsequent offences.
Phone calls with a hand-held are still permitted in emergency situations, however.
Bill Dowe, chairman of the Truckers Association of Nova Scotia, said he approves of the measure but is worried the law could be interpreted by some enforcement officers to include CB radios used by truckers.
He told the Truro Daily News that the province should have made plans to create more areas for vehicles and trucks to pull over on Nova Scotia’s roads and highways so drivers without hands-free technology can talk safely.
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