Man. driver cell ban nets $22K on 1st day

Manitoba has begun enforcing bans against using cellphones while driving, texting while driving and smoking with children in the car.

At the end ofbusiness hoursThursday, the first day of enforcement,police had already issued more than 100 tickets.

Violatingany one of the amendments to the Highway Traffic Actdraws a $199.80 fine, so nearly $22,000 in expectedrevenue was generated from the first day of enforcement.

Police said that between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT, 109 tickets were handed out to driversspotted talkingon their cellphones while driving, One motorist was fined for smoking with kids in the car.

"The message to Manitobans is this: when youre on the road, keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel," Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Steve Ashton said in a news release. "And when there are kids in the car, butt out your cigarettes."

RCMP Insp. Mark LeMaistreof the Manitoba Association of Chiefs of Police said there is a direct connection between theuse of electronic devices and dangerous driving.

"Study after study has shown that drivers who talk or text on a hand-held electronic device while operating a motor vehicle significantly increased their crash risk," said LeMaistre.

A government statement said:

• Cellphone use is the number one source of driver inattention.
• Drivers who text are 23 times more likely to be involved in a collision.
• Drivers who use cellphones are four times more likely to get into crashes serious enough tohurt them.

Bansagainst smoking in a vehicle when a child under 16 is present help young people avoidtaking upthe habit, said Dr. Annette Schultz, an assistant professor at the faculty of nursing at the University of Manitoba.

British Columbia, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick also ban smoking with a child in the car.

Manitoba joins British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island in banningcellphone usewhile driving, and Alberta recently introduced similarlegislation.

TheManitoba law allows cellphone use while driving if the equipment is hands-free.

The law also allows use of a hand-held cellphone in an emergency.