Gillian Shaw
Sun
Step away from your cellphone — that is, if you are getting behind the wheel of a vehicle in British Columbia, where juggling the steering wheel in one hand while using the other to text or talk on your phone is now forbidden by law.
The ban applies to cellphones, personal digital assistants, MP3 players and other handheld devices.
But you don’t have to be totally cut off when you get behind the wheel. A number of hands-free solutions will keep you legal, from those that come built-in with higher-end autos to technology that reads your e-mail while you drive and wired or wireless headsets that start as low as $30.
However, if you are a learner or a new licence holder under B.C.’s graduated licence program (GLP), meaning you have a Class 7 or Class 7L licence, you can stop reading now. For you there are no hands-free exceptions to the law. GLP drivers are not allowed to use electronic devices that cover a long list, including: “hand-held cell phones, handheld devices capable of transmitting or receiving e-mail or other text-based messages, electronic devices that include a hands-free telephone function, global positioning systems, hand held devices that can compute data, hand held audio players, hand microphones and televisions,” according to the B.C. government’s advisory on the issue.
GLP drivers can listen to hand-held audio players but only through the vehicle’s speaker system, and they can’t hold or operate the player while driving. So plug in and program your iPod to play through your car stereo speakers before you turn on the ignition. The same applies for all drivers on that issue.
So, what’s allowed? An electronic device with a hands-free telephone function, as long as you don’t have to hold it in your hand to operate it and it is voice-activated or one touch is enough to make, accept or end a call. If it has an earpiece, it is one-ear only, unless you’re on a motorcycle, in which case a two-earpiece headset is okay. You have to be wearing the headset before you start to drive–digging around for it in your purse or pocket when the phone rings isn’t acceptable.
The electronic device has to be fixed securely in the vehicle or worn securely and within easy reach. It can’t obstruct your view or interfere with driving the car. Sending or receiving text or e-mail on any type of electronic devices while you’re driving is not allowed.
You can listen to an iPod or other hand-held player but only if it’s securely fixed to the vehicle or you, and the sound comes through the speakers of your vehicle’s sound system.TVscreens are still allowed but they
can’t be in the driver’s view unless they have photos, info or data designed for the safe operation of the vehicle. Options like the rear-view camera, therefore, are legal.
Hand microphones, used mostly by delivery companies and other commercial operations, are allowed if the unit is both a receiver and microphone, it operates by a push and hold to talk and allows for oral communications but not talking and receiving at the same time, according to the new legislation. It can’t be held in the hand and has to be within easy reach of the driver’s seat, securely fixed on the vehicle or worn by the driver.
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