Next week:
(Part 3 of 3)Staying connected... at all costs.
The Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) has been using some pretty shocking ads in recent years, and now various websites are finding original, albeit gruesome methods to deter car drivers from texting behind the wheel.
For instance, in a new YouTube video uploaded by a Belgian driving school, instructors make their students believe that the government now requires them to actually be able to text while driving.
Schools
Closer to home, a number of Quebec high schools have launched education campaigns with the collaboration of local police. As you can imagine, newly licenced teen drivers are particularly addicted to text messages. To show their classmates just how dangerous and tragic driving distractions can be, some have simulated a major car crash in which the occupants are trapped and lose (fake) blood as they wait for the emergency crews to extract them using the jaws of life. Other schools gave students movie tickets to see Paul Arcand's latest work, Dérapages, which highlights the consequences of reckless driving.
Cities
In St. Eustache, the Zéro texto en auto campaign was launched in May. Large-scale operations will be carried out in various shopping centres and public places to educate drivers. Explicit and high-impact advertisements in buses, restaurants, recreational centres and local newspapers, as well as on electronic billboards and the city's official website, will further drive the point home. Blainville and other towns have planned similar initiatives.
Last year, as part of the festivities surrounding the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, a couple of Formula 1 drivers were challenged to send text messages while driving. After just a few seconds, both Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa committed a violation and got into an accident on the simulator.
Elsewhere
From insurance companies to celebrities, the message is loud and clear. Allstate came up with a shocking online video. Even Justin Bieber made an effort to alert his fans!
All Canadian provinces and territories, save for Nunavut, have passed a bill to make hand-held cell phones illegal behind the wheel – Newfoundland-Labrador in 2003, and most other provinces between 2008 and 2010. Alberta, New Brunswick and the Northwest Territories jumped on the bandwagon in 2011.
Fines vary across the country from $45 (NL) to $500 (ON). At the same time, offenders receive from two to six demerit points. They can even go to jail for two days (NL) or up to six months (ON). If the driver is also accused of reckless driving, the sentence may reach five years. Interestingly, in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Yukon, holders of a learner's licence are not even allowed to use a hands-free phone system.
(Part 3 of 3)Staying connected... at all costs.
The Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) has been using some pretty shocking ads in recent years, and now various websites are finding original, albeit gruesome methods to deter car drivers from texting behind the wheel.
For instance, in a new YouTube video uploaded by a Belgian driving school, instructors make their students believe that the government now requires them to actually be able to text while driving.
Schools
Closer to home, a number of Quebec high schools have launched education campaigns with the collaboration of local police. As you can imagine, newly licenced teen drivers are particularly addicted to text messages. To show their classmates just how dangerous and tragic driving distractions can be, some have simulated a major car crash in which the occupants are trapped and lose (fake) blood as they wait for the emergency crews to extract them using the jaws of life. Other schools gave students movie tickets to see Paul Arcand's latest work, Dérapages, which highlights the consequences of reckless driving.
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Cities
In St. Eustache, the Zéro texto en auto campaign was launched in May. Large-scale operations will be carried out in various shopping centres and public places to educate drivers. Explicit and high-impact advertisements in buses, restaurants, recreational centres and local newspapers, as well as on electronic billboards and the city's official website, will further drive the point home. Blainville and other towns have planned similar initiatives.
Last year, as part of the festivities surrounding the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, a couple of Formula 1 drivers were challenged to send text messages while driving. After just a few seconds, both Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa committed a violation and got into an accident on the simulator.
Elsewhere
From insurance companies to celebrities, the message is loud and clear. Allstate came up with a shocking online video. Even Justin Bieber made an effort to alert his fans!
All Canadian provinces and territories, save for Nunavut, have passed a bill to make hand-held cell phones illegal behind the wheel – Newfoundland-Labrador in 2003, and most other provinces between 2008 and 2010. Alberta, New Brunswick and the Northwest Territories jumped on the bandwagon in 2011.
Fines vary across the country from $45 (NL) to $500 (ON). At the same time, offenders receive from two to six demerit points. They can even go to jail for two days (NL) or up to six months (ON). If the driver is also accused of reckless driving, the sentence may reach five years. Interestingly, in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Yukon, holders of a learner's licence are not even allowed to use a hands-free phone system.