Ban cellphone use while driving: councillor

A Fredericton city councillor has renewed the call for a ban on people using cellphones while driving, but so far the New Brunswick government says it is just monitoring the situation.

Coun. David Kelly said Wednesday he has seen first-hand how such devices are a danger to traffic.

"This past week, I'm driving up the street here in Fredericton, and a person cuts in front of me, almost cuts me off ," he said. "As we come up to the red light, I couldn't help but notice they're sitting there operating a BlackBerry in front of the steering wheel of the vehicle. The light turns green. The person is still using the BlackBerry. Finally the individual drove away, but I'm saying to myself, 'what if?'"

That's why Kelly would like to see New Brunswick follow Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Quebec in banning drivers from using hand-held cellphones, and perhaps even extend the ban to include other electronic devices.

Bill Adams of the Insurance Bureau of Canada said Wednesday eight out of every 10 motor vehicle accidents in the country are caused by driver distraction, which he says takes many forms.

"Banning cellphones, hand-held cellphones, is not the silver bullet that most people would believe that it is," he said.

Adams says cellphones may be the most visible form of distracted driving, but they're just one of many.

"You're as distracted with a hands-free cellphone as you are with a hand-held, so it's not the physical act of holding the phone to your ear that is the distraction. It's the cognitive disengagement from the act of driving."

New technology has led to even more distractions and a disturbing trend," he said.

"We've developed this notion that the car is not just a mode of transportation, but it's a mobile office, it's a mobile kitchen, it's a mobile living room, and we are cramming more and more and more into what, I think, culturally we are seeing as 'down time,'" Adams said.

While there's no New Brunswick law specifically banning the use of electronics while driving, policecan charge people for driving with undue care and attention, according to Fredericton police Const. Ralph Currie.

"We only ask that people be more educated to the fact that distractions do cause accidents, and if people are more cognizant of it, at least, if certain things have to be done, they'll pull over."

Public Safety Minister John Foran has said his department will continue to monitor the other provinces, but so far no decision has been made on such a ban in New Brunswick.