Posts Tagged ‘alberta’
With today’s passing of Bill 26, Albertans are soon to face much tougher penalties in regards to impaired driving, and blowing between the 0.05 BAC warn limit, and the 0.08 BAC criminal DUI limit. Under the new law, if a person is caught driving with a BAC level from 0.05 to 0.08, their license would be suspended for 3 days, and their car could also be seized for the same period. That’s an increase from the previous 24-hour suspension for blowing between the 2 levels.
There has been a lot of debate over how strict this limit is, and how many drinks will actually tip you over the limit. In our first unscientific breathalyzer challenge, we found that most of us couldn’t even register a 0.05 while drinking at a bar, even though all of us did not feel safe to drive. We concluded at that time that 0.08 is way too high of a limit, and applaude the tougher 0.05 rules that were being considered.
There were a lot of criticism over our testing methods,
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Calgary Police Sargeant Texting While Driving (Photo by: forum member Jetta-2.0)
Starting this Thursday, Police in Alberta will be able to start issuing tickets under the Traffic Safety Act for distracted driving. On September 1, 2011 the amendment of Section 115 takes effect and will prohibit drivers from using hand-held cell phones to not only make calls but more importantly text or e-mail. The use of electronic devices such as laptops, portable gaming systems, video screens (portable or built into the vehicle) is also not allowed. While using a GPS will still be allowed, drivers will not be able to enter information into one while driving.
The new distracted driver bylaw does not stop there though. Reading, writing, drawing and personal grooming and hygiene are all on the “not allowed” list. Getting caught doing any of the above activities while operating a vehicle and it’ll cost you a nice $172. Notice the use of the word “vehicle”. That’s right, if you do any of the above while riding your bicycle, you could technically still be ticketed so put away that floss as you pedal down the pathways.
Will the distracted driving bylaw be effective as a road safety measure? Without demerit points to go with the fine, some drivers may find it worth the risk to continue doing what they do. On that same note, police officers knowing that the ticket does not have demerits may write more tickets as they know most people will not bother fighting the ticket as it will likely cost more to fight than to simply pay the fine.
Those in the insurance industry may be able to shed some light on this, but as a non-moving violation will drivers that get hit with this face higher insurance premiums? According to the Government of Alberta website, drivers that commit moving violations may get two tickets, one for the distracted driving and one for their moving violation. Police departments will be happy to hear they’ll be able to pick up an extra $150 in revenue each time they issue one of these tickets.
Some questions for you to ponder as we countdown to 9/1: Is eating a distraction? What about pets running around the vehicle? Can a conversation with a back seat passenger be a distraction? Is driving distracted worse or is driving while tired?
Drive safe! :)
Resources: Alberta Distracted Driving Legislation
The provincial Tories are pushing ahead with distracted
driving legislation with no proof such bans reduce collisions,
says Alberta Transportation Minister Luke Ouellette.
Former Alberta MP Rahim Jaffer plead guilty on Tuesday to a careless driving charge and was fined $500.
A story by Jamie Komarnicki of the Calgary Herald raises a whole raft of points and, no doubt, an even wider range of opinions. As Komarnicki writes, a group of Alberta Hutterites says it plans to drive without proper driver’s licences rather than violate long-held religious beliefs by posing for the photo required by official government documents.
When the Tsuu T’ina nation surprised Calgarians (and Premier Ed Stelmach) by voting against the proposal that would have saw the SW portion of the ring road cut through their reserve, the Municipal and Provincial Governments immediately began working on alternative plans. Action on the alternative plans was so swift that even the Tsuu T’ina nation seemed to be caught off-guard as Chief Sandford Big Plume held onto his hope that talks would resume. Unfortunately for Big Plume, the Province of Alberta and the City of Calgary were done talking. 40 Years of talking is too much, even for politicians.
The City took the first step to alleviate traffic pressures in the SW by constructing a roundabout on 37th street. Instead of allowing eastbound Glenmore Trail traffic to turn left across westbound Glenmore Trail traffic the new configuration has drivers making a right turn at 37th street. They then enter the roundabout to make a u-turn to continue travelling on north on 37th street. The location of the roundabout irked the Tsuu T’ina tribe–it is located right at the entrance of the Grey Eagle Casino. The City received a letter from the tribe on October 16th, dated October 2nd which warns that the Tsuu T’ina nation:
“does not consent to any road construction on or near Tsuu T’ina Nation lands not accounting for the Tsuu T’ina Nation’s rights to enter and leave lands at any point along our borders.” It goes on to say that “any interference by the city of Calgary of Tsuu T’ina Nation’s rights to enter and leave its lands at any point along Tsuu T’ina Nation boundaries constitutes a breach of our rights under Treaty No. 7.
The next part is the kicker:
“Any construction of roads by the city of Calgary or the permitting of any other buildings or development along the road is a breach of Tsuu T’ina Nation’s rights under Treaty No. 7.”
Mayor Dave Bronconnier was not deterred by the threat of legal action. “We’re not going to stop because the First Nation writes a letter asking us to stop.” He went on to reiterate that the City of Calgary will continue to provide the tribe legal access to the reserve through the Anderson Road and 37th street intersection. The mayor said the city would consult with the Tsuu T’ina nation as a courtesy. “We would seek their input, not their approval.”
Brilliant. I say if you’re going to play hardball, you better be ready to deal with the outcome. The Tsuu T’ina gambled for a better deal from the Province and City but their bluff was called. They now face the prospects of getting nothing and may even lose a key entrance to their Grey Eagle Casino. Perhaps the gambling should best be kept inside the casino.
After raising the basic auto insurance rate by 5% last year, the auto insurance industry will be rolling back that increase after the Auto Insurance Rate Board announced its decision today after holding public hearings last month. As with the increase last year, the new rates will take effect on November 1st. The AIRB only regulates the cost the basic insurance and not additional coverage such as collision.
“Today’s announcement shows how auto insurance reforms are working for Albertans,” Alf Savage, chairman of the Auto Insurance Rate Board, said in a statement.
“Since the introduction of the reforms in 2004, rates for compulsory auto insurance coverage have decreased by 18 per cent.”
While compulsory auto insurance rates have gone down, insurance companies have offset the difference with increased premiums for collision coverage. The court ruling that allows the Alberta Government to set a compensation cap on soft-tissue injuries benefits only the insurance companies at the expense of Albertans.
Think about this for a moment. The 5% decrease in insurance premiums works out on average to be about $30/year back into your pocket. For the short-term thinkers this may seem like a great thing; thats an extra case of beer, Right on! However, as anyone that has been involved in an injury accident can attest to, the $4,500 cap on soft-tissue injury compensation is hardly enough to cover all the medical and other miscellaneous expenses that come with these injuries. The cap on payouts keeps the money in the insurance companies pocket, and drivers in alberta get a slap-in-your-face $30 back.
Enjoy your beer.
The title is a bit misleading, but we are one step closer to seeing some expansion of the roadways in the southwest portion of Calgary with Premier Ed Stelmach saying today that the province is not going to resume talks with the Tsuu T’ina Nation after the band voted against the Ring Road proposal. Instead the Municipal and Provincial Governments will work together to fund the expansion of existing roads to alleviate the traffic pressures caused by the numerous delays to the SW portion of the ring road project.
The vote was taken. The agreement was turned down. There’s no coming back,” the premier said in Calgary today.
Tsuu T’ina Chief Sandford Big Plume as recently as last week hoped talks would resume. From an outsider’s perspective it looks like Tsuu T’ina people gambled for a bigger and better deal from the Province and lost big time. Instead of a counter-offer, the Province and City have officially closed the doors to any talks and plan to build around the reserve. The band has scheduled a meeting to discuss the ring road for later this week.
However, the Tsuu T’ina First Nations are not the only group that is not ready to move on. Environment Minister Jim Prentice said today that he hopes talks will resume between the Province and the band. I think 40 years is enough talking and every year we sit around and do nothing, the traffic continues to grow. The costs to build the roadway will continue to soar.
“It’s an essential project,” Prentice said. “I hope that the province and Tsuu T’ina pick up that ball and get on with it.”
We don’t necessarily need the SW portion of the ring road. Aside from the fact there wouldn’t be a “ring” around the city, there is no harm in leaving out the portion that would have run through the Tsuu T’ina land. Instead, expanding Glenmore Trail to 6 lanes and building an interchange at 37th street and Highway 8 would keep traffic moving there for years. A 37th street tunnel (or bridge like the one over Bowness Park) would further alleviate any traffic pressures. The 37th street tunnel would be subsidized by the Tsuu T’ina First Nations because they need easy access to the Grey Eagle Casino at the corner of Glenmore and 37th street.
I wish city planning was as easy as Sim City :)
A car is not a living room.
More and more Albertans are distracted while driving, says Kent Dixon, of the Alberta Motor Association.
“I see more and more people driving their vehicles as though they’re sitting on their couch at home,” he said.”They’re doing anything but paying attention. Driving is not about multi-tasking.”
Add impaired driving and speed to various driver distractions, like text-messaging, and the chances of a collision increase dramatically.
“It really just takes a split-second for an error in judgment or a moment of distraction to cause a collision. There is no such thing as an accident, there are only collisions which can be avoided.”
With the improved weather and road conditions, unfortunately comes increased speeds and risk-taking on Alberta roads as people deal with cabin fever, he said.
Alberta Transportation statistics show that 46 per cent of fatalities on Alberta roads happen between the May and Labour Day long weekends. Between 1998 and 2007, there were more than 10,000 injuries and 225 deaths on roads in Alberta.
Dixon is asking drivers to take reponsibility for their own actions and look out for the safety of, not just themselves, but others as well. He added there’s no excuse to drink and drive.
“We’re not telling people not to drink,” he said. “We’re telling people to drink responsibility.”
Kimberley Collins-Lauber, Edmonton Journal
kcollins-lauber@thejournal.canwest.com
The Alberta Government was set to unveil new license plates this year as we are due to run out of possible combinations using the existing plates. The new plates will incorporate a new visual theme of either mountains or wild roses and a new slogan. However, we will have to wait a little longer to see the new plates because the new plates will not be unveiled this year.
“It simply doesn’t make sense to me to commit millions of dollars to replace all plates in the province this year,” said Service Alberta Minister Heather Klimchuk. “However, it was very clear during our consultation that Albertans are very interested in their licence plate and would like to see the design updated. We plan to meet that commitment, when the time is right.”
The Government will wait until economic conditions improve to unveil the new license plates as it simply does not make sense to spend millions of dollars at this time. Instead, when all the plate combinations runs out this summer, a fourth digit will be added creating a new 7 digit (ABC-1234) plate configuration.
So I guess we’ll have to wait for $75-80 oil before we start seeing these new plates. Damn recession, I was looking forward to seeing these new plates. ;)
Beyond Media, Inc.
