Driver distraction laws alberta

For the safety of pets, drivers and all road users, it is recommended that pets are secured in appropriate pet carriers. Under the Traffic Safety Act , emergency vehicles include police service vehicles, fire response units, ambulances and gas disconnection units.

Drivers of emergency vehicles are able to use hand-held communication devices or other electronic devices only when acting within the scope of their employment. During rush hour, you must keep track of thousands of items including traffic signals, other motorists, passengers and road conditions.

Keeping your eyes on the road and staying alert can be difficult, but life-saving. Follow these tips to minimize distractions:. Hours: am to 12 pm, and 1 pm to pm open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays Phone: Toll free: before the phone number in Alberta Email: [email protected]. You will not receive a reply.

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If you require a response, please go to our Contact page. Distracted driving officially became a driving offense in Alberta on September 1, However, the province recently upgraded the distracted driving fines. Additional fines can be levied if you drive carelessly. If you are convicted of driving while distracted in Alberta, 3 demerit points will be added to your driving record.

They will stay on your record for 2 years from your conviction date. Since Alberta distracted driving legislation was passed in , the number of convictions has increased each year. Based on data collected about distracted driving convictions, a distracted driver in Alberta is a :. There has been a stark increase in the number of people using electronic devices :. There has been a decrease in the number of number of people caught reading and grooming while driving :.

Source : Alberta Government. Not surprisingly, the larger municipalities in Alberta had the highest instances of distracted driving. In :. Since , convictions have lowered in virtually all major municipalities in Alberta except Edmonton :. Comparing gender, male drivers had the highest number of distracted driving convictions in There were 24, drivers convicted of distracted driving in Alberta in Of those :.

Source: Alberta Government. Lots of these have involved the obvious texting-while-driving or talking-while-driving violations, but we have also seen lots of cases where the defendants legitimately had no idea that they were breaking the law.

A while back, we sat in on a traffic court case where a man was defending himself against a distracted driving ticket. What this man did not realize was that distracted driving legislation is still in effect at red lights and encompasses such things as using a camera to check your teeth for crumbs. In addition, he failed to realize that even if he thought he was fully aware of what was happening around him, the mere act of using the selfie function is enough to divert his attention from his surroundings.

Needless to say, the courts were not swayed by his defense and upheld his ticket and demerits. He also received a very stern warning.