This is it -- the No texting while driving law starts this month

[CDSmith]

Well, here in Manitoba anyway. I know there are laws in effect in certain other places already and they are spreading to many other states and provinces rapidly, but they may not cover quite as much as the ones we're about to experience.


http://www.gov.mb.ca/drivers/new_law.html

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/st...-manitoba.html

Drivers caught texting or using handheld cellphones in Manitoba face steep fines as of July 15.

Under the amendments to the Highway Traffic Act, motorists face a fine of almost $200 if caught breaking the new law.

Hands-free phones are still okay. Fine for texting or talking on cell while driving nets you the "steep" fine of $200, but no demerits added to one's license according to several sites.

The amendments also ban smoking in vehicles when children under the age of 16 are present. That fine is also about $200.

http://www.gov.mb.ca/drivers/index.html

Changes to the Highway Traffic Act also ban smoking tobacco in cars when children under 16 are present.

Studies show the same toxic chemicals found in your car's exhaust such as formaldehyde, benzene and carbon monoxide are found in tobacco smoke. By smoking in your car when children are present, you are increasing their risk of developing serious respiratory illnesses.

Agree? Disagree? Love these laws or hate them?

What are they like where you live?

[MetaMan]

Just what we need more laws!

[TidalWave]

Not a big deal. If you don't have bluetooth in your car, its time for an upgrade anyways

[bronco67]

On the road near my house where I walk my dog, every other car is a girl driving while texting. They should change the law to "no chicks can drive with a cell phone in the car, because those bitches can't go 1 minute without texting their BFF."

[MetaMan]

Originally Posted by bronco67

On the road near my house where I walk my dog, every other car is a girl driving while texting. They should change the law to "no chicks can drive with a cell phone in the car."

may as well take women off the road in general.

[PR_Glen]

they should just make universal ports in cars standard like seat belts... that would save lives, there is no sure data on how many people who have gotten into accidents because of stupid stuff like this because the phone is no where to be found at the scene i'm sure...

but we all have a story of someone almost hitting us because 'that idiot' was texting on their phone at the time.. so i think its far more a danger than some think.

[fatfoo]

That's very interesting. It's another law to protect health.

[cwd]

people are so stupid that there actually has to be a law to tell them its bad to text and drive...retards!!!

[Raf1]

it's really sad that you need to force people by law not to be so stupid...

[Chosen]

Originally Posted by Raf1

it's really sad that you need to force people by law not to be so stupid...

Indeed

[bronco67]

Originally Posted by fatfoo

That's very interesting. It's another law to protect health.

But its more about protecting the health of people who might be killed by an idiot texting while driving. Who really gives a shit about the driver?

[ottopottomouse]

I can't even read and reply to a text while going along as a passenger fuck knows how you are supposed to be able to do it and drive too.

[Sausage]

People are STUPID enough to text while driving??!! Are you serious? That has to be one of the most idiotic things i have ever heard.

[CDSmith]

Some comments from people on various blogs and forums on this...

Shifterman: i have no problems with putting my phone in my purse and ignoring everyone till i am ina parked and safe place to reply..... However, when i have my kids with me i am not allowed to smoke....... i paid for the car, and the insurance and the cigarette i choose to light. when on earth did it become such a crime to smoke a cigarette in,on and around my own personal property? it's nice how they kinda snuck that one in..... crock of crap let me tell ya. next it's gonna be i cant smoke near my home or in my home cause i got kids. talk about discrimination. when the government pays for my vehicle and the insurance and everything else that costs with my vehicle is when i will be more understanding of not smoking in my vehicle till then, to bad...... sorry just a rant. we got kids pushing drugs near our schools, and smoking a legal cigarette is now illegal but we cant stop the drug pushers from approaching my 7 year old daughter at school...... common!

Re: Police, PI and Mobile Security excempt from law
No Police should be exempt from ANY law.. They Have RADIO'S in EVERY Squad Car For a reason. "Please Don't shoot I need to text or call for back up" Peer STUPID Excuse and crookedness if you ask me.

Sean: re; Shifterman
These rules are brought into effect to protect the children of stupid parents who feel that their needs are more important to that of their childrens.

BusMan
June 18th 2010, 1:22pm
I completely agree as well. I am someone that spends a fair amount of time on the road with sales and I have been using a handsfree system for years and although not perfect I don't have my hands tied up holding the phone and if you use your voice dial even better. My only conern is: I travel a lot to other provinces where these laws are already in effect and in Calgary everyone has gone back to the old ways after about 12 months. Yesterday on the deerfoot people were texting at 100kph. I hope the police stick with this and hand out tickets.

Annoyed
June 18th 2010, 12:34pm
The fine should also include cab drivers. 90% of the time they are too busy looking at there stupid screen in there car then paying attention to the road and what going on around them. To me this is the same as texting while driving.

[Amputate Your Head]

All that is standard procedure here in Cali. And people violate the law constantly.

[bronco67]

Some people have forgotten why test messaging was invented...it's for messaging. People are getting into long conversations and doing it in the car. At least make a call, if you just have to tell your cousin that you had anchovies on your fucking pizza last night.

Testing is great when you need to send a quick message without having to get tied up in a conversation. You can say something like, "be there at 5" or "bring the dildo" or whatever. Why are people chit chatting with it constantly?

[quiet]

god i hate the idiots who text or are talking on the phone on a handheld. never see where the hell they are going. they've really cracked down on it recently here in Whistler, cops doing nothing but waiting for some moron to come around the corner on his phone. my girl and i were sitting out on a patio the other day having lunch, and they were pulling over people left and right lol.

[CDSmith]

From June 18th article in the Winnipeg Sun...

Hang Up That Phone
Manitoba drivers have less than a month to talk on their cellphones while driving or legally smoke in the car with kids.

Transportation Minister Steve Ashton announced Thursday that as of July 15, a new law will come into effect that prevents drivers from talking on hand-held cellphones or texting while driving.

The same law also forbids smoking in vehicles while anyone younger than 16 is inside ? even if the windows, sunroof or convertible top are open.

The standard fine for violating any of these provisions will be $199.80.

?As of July 15 you will have three choices,? Ashton said. ?You can either pull over, use hands-free or risk getting a ticket.?

Sgt. Line Karpish, a spokeswoman for Manitoba RCMP, said officers, as with any other law, will use their discretion in deciding whether to issue tickets, but will not be observing any sort of grace period.

?It is our view that there?s been a fairly lengthy campaign for awareness,? Karpish said. ?The public should be prepared to be ticketed.?

Enforceable

Karpish said Mounties will be enforcing the new law much as they would an offence like driving without a buckled seatbelt.

?If our members see it, they can act on it,? she said.

Winnipeg police did not respond to a request regarding their enforcement plans.

Mike Mager, president of CAA Manitoba, said the auto club wholeheartedly supports the new law but wants to ensure there is enough enforcement to deter drivers from breaking it.

?We certainly don?t want people to go back to their old habits,? he said, adding he feels the fine is stiff enough to act as a deterrent.

Ashton predicted 95% of Manitobans would comply with the law as soon as it comes into force.

The NDP government introduced the law in November 2008 and passed it June 11, 2009, but have been conducting a public awareness campaign that includes TV ads in recent months as an ?educational? component to warn the public about the dangers of distracted driving in the lead-up to enforcement.

It will spend $125,000 over the next four weeks continuing that effort.

Manitoba joins several other provinces that already have laws banning either in-car cellphone use, in-car smoking or both.

Well all I can say is it's about time. A few people seem to be able to manage yapping on phones etc while driving, but there are just too damn many who can't. They lane-wander, they cut you off, they're just oblivious idiots who need to be stopped, period.

[MetaMan]

I dunno about you people but i can have a cigar going, while drinking a water, making a call, steering with my knee and putting a CD in with my cock. bad drivers are bad drivers. they should make it harder to get your license in the firstplace all these bans on this and that have 0 effect imo.

there needs to be less people on the road = more skilled drivers on the road.

[MetaMan]

In turn spend less money on the police force who are just out writing tickets all day, less need for crowded roads and put that money towards more advanced public transportation system.

[CDSmith]

Originally Posted by Amputate Your Head

All that is standard procedure here in Cali. And people violate the law constantly.

I'm fairly confident that anyone who tries that here will eventually get nailed. Not a legitimate hands-free device. And cops here aren't particularly fond or tolerant of shit like this.

[O MARINA]

Originally Posted by CDSmith

This is it -- the No texting while driving law starts this month

good !!!!

[Litzer]

Just started here about a week ago. In the first day they ticketed +600 people in my city. $125 ticket. You do the math.

[Tom_PM]

The smoking thing is stupid in the sense that they'll try to regulate anything that pumps out carcinogens KNOWN TO BE IN CAR EXHAUST.. except car exhaust.

[notime]

We've had the same laws in Holland for like 2 years now. I already got 2 fines so far.

[CDSmith]

Originally Posted by PR_Tom

The smoking thing is stupid in the sense that they'll try to regulate anything that pumps out carcinogens KNOWN TO BE IN CAR EXHAUST.. except car exhaust.

Word. I think it's also stupid in the sense that idiot smokers who are parents actually need a law to force them to quit poisoning their kids.

[Amputate Your Head]

Originally Posted by CDSmith

Word. I think it's also stupid in the sense that idiot smokers who are parents actually need a law to force them to quit poisoning their kids.

Yeah, how are those kids supposed to breathe while they're waiting in the car as I sit in the sports bar for a few hours.

[candyflip]

A bunch of my cousins little 18 year old girlfriends were killed a few years back...it is believed that the girl who was driving was texting at the time. I actually think you posted the news here on the board CD.

This law is a good thing. Thankfully, my phone as speech to text

[WarChild]

Should be as effective as speeding laws. Those work pretty good, right?

[CDSmith]

Originally Posted by candyflip

A bunch of my cousins little 18 year old girlfriends were killed a few years back...it is believed that the girl who was driving was texting at the time. I actually think you posted the news here on the board CD.

This law is a good thing. Thankfully, my phone as speech to text

I may have. Maybe a year and a half ago or something, because back then a cousin of mine was also in a car with a group of people and was killed in a wreck involving texting/cell phone use.

[CDSmith]

Originally Posted by WarChild

Should be as effective as speeding laws. Those work pretty good, right?

I liken this more to the seatbelt laws, which have actually been enforced and do make a difference.

[marcop]

I was nearly run down last Friday by a guy texting who failed to notice a stop sign. I'm in favor of the cops dragging offenders from their cars, and summarily executing them at the side of the road.

[candyflip]

Originally Posted by CDSmith

I may have. Maybe a year and a half ago or something, because back then a cousin of mine was also in a car with a group of people and was killed in a wreck involving texting/cell phone use.

Yep...spring 2008 or so. A whole SUV full of about to graduate, 18 year old cheerleaders.

It's been a law here in NYS for a while that you can't hold your phone to talk and drive, but it's not something they really seem to enforce. The one person I know who got a ticket for it, was actually pulled over for speeding and the cop let her off with the driving on the phone ticket...which she was doing too.

Guess we'll see.

[JFK]

its been in force in Ontario since feb. I guess the novelty of the threat of a fine has worn off, as I see more and more people taking and texting while driving.

[Jman]

I saw an idiot ram is bike in a parked car while he was texting... I tried to ask him if he was alright but had such a hard time cause I was LOL to much.

Seriously why are people so addicted to texting that they cannot wait a few minutes.

[Amputate Your Head]

(linkhotten)

[Jerry's Intensity]

That's good, I do it all the time and need to be stopped.

[Itchy]

Originally Posted by Amputate Your Head

Yeah, how are those kids supposed to breathe while they're waiting in the car as I sit in the sports bar for a few hours.

[Tom_PM]

I rode in a car with a guy who almost drove his car up a lamp post because a heavy chested girl was walking braless on the sidewalk. Not a single person in the car noticed we were about to crash for some reason.

[Itchy]

Under changes to the Motor Vehicle Act introduced by government last fall that take effect on Jan. 1, 2010, drivers will be allowed to use only hands-free cellphones and devices that require only one touch to activate. As of Feb. 1, a driver talking on a hand-held phone or electronic device will be subject to a fine of $167. In addition, drivers caught texting or emailing will be subject to three penalty points.



For new drivers in the Graduated Licensing Program (GLP), there will be a full ban on all cellphone and electronic devices, including hands-free. A recently released report entitled ?Teens and Distracted Driving? by Washington D.C.-based Pew Research found that of those teens 16 to 17 years of age who own a cell phone or text regularly, more than half have talked on a cellphone while driving, and one in three has texted while driving.



?Police chiefs in British Columbia support the new rules,? said Chu. ?This legislation provides Vancouver police with a valuable tool to improve road safety and better protect everyone on our streets. Since driving is a full-time activity, distracted and inattentive drivers will be subject to both education and enforcement by the VPD in our efforts to improve safety for all road users.?

http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_rele...044-000783.htm

[ottopottomouse]

Originally Posted by bronco67

Some people have forgotten why test messaging was invented...it's for messaging.

Was actually invented for network engineers to use but don't let me pre-invent your FACT

[ottopottomouse]

Originally Posted by Amputate Your Head

(linkhotten)

Do you have a similar map for numbers of texts sent ie. popularity of texting in each state?

[Kenny B!]

They passed that here in Montreal a while ago, no hand held devices are allowed while driving, gps included.

[danevans]

in my country texting and talking while driving is also not allowed, but the idiotic thing is that there are fines for pedestrians too, if you use your phone or mp3 player while crossing the street! (even on green lights or marked passing spots without traffic lights)

[Antonio]

Originally Posted by WarChild

Should be as effective as speeding laws. Those work pretty good, right?

In many European countries they work pretty well actually. It all comes down to enforcing the law: once you get fined with what amounts to half of your monthly salary, you will quickly learn to respect the speed limits.

[ottopottomouse]

Originally Posted by danevans

in my country texting and talking while driving is also not allowed, but the idiotic thing is that there are fines for pedestrians too, if you use your phone or mp3 player while crossing the street! (even on green lights or marked passing spots without traffic lights)

It's not as idiotic as you might think. I had a girl on her phone end up on the bonnet of my car a few years ago as she just crossed the road without even looking.

[saucygirl]

Between trying not to get hit by dumb ass teens texting and blind old farts in Florida my defensive driving has gone on steroids.

[CYF]

Originally Posted by Amputate Your Head

(linkhotten)

I'm in Minnesota and we've had a ban on texting for a couple years now.

$300 fine for breaking it.

[CDSmith]

Originally Posted by PR_Tom

I rode in a car with a guy who almost drove his car up a lamp post because a heavy chested girl was walking braless on the sidewalk. Not a single person in the car noticed we were about to crash for some reason.

If you're lobbying for a ban on heavy chested women going braless in public, I'm sorry but I can't support it.

You're on your own. :D

[JD]

illegal as shit in WA and hasn't changed anything :/