January 2010

New Cell Phone Legislation

Collision Analysis wishes everyone a happy and safe 2010. We trust all of you made wise transportation decisions after ringing in the New Year by choosing not to drink and drive. And, if you were driving in certain parts of western Canada, we trust you remembered not to dial and drive. While many of us celebrated 2010 with toasts, resolutions, and singing of Auld Lang Syne, British Columbia and Saskatchewan ushered in the New Year with new cell phone legislation.

As of January 1st, B.C. and Saskatchewan joined a growing list of provinces and states that have banned hand-held cell phones while driving. Ontario recently joined the list in October. Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island have similar rules. Manitoba's proposed cell phone ban is expected to be proclaimed into law during 2010. Alberta and New Brunswick are the only two provinces in Canada without existing legislation (and the three territories).

In the U.S., seven states (California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Utah, and Washington) and the District of Columbia prohibit hand-held cell phone use by all drivers. Numerous other states target bus drivers and new drivers only. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia make it illegal for all drivers to text and drive, and nine states target texting and driving to beginner drivers only. For more information about U.S. cell phone laws, go to www.iihs.org.

No province or state currently bans all drivers from using hands-free phones, despite studies that show their use carries similar risks to hand-held phones. It has been shown that the crash risk increases approximately four-fold while talking on a hand-held or hands-free phone and 23-fold while texting.