As of January 1st, BC motorists have joined those of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Quebec, and Ontario who are no longer permitted to operate mobile devices such as phones, and MP3 players while driving. Adult motorists will be allowed to use hands-free devices such as earpieces and speakerphones January will be a grace period for drivers with fines of $167 being dolled out to anybody caught breaking the new laws after February 1st of this year.

The new restrictions are widely approved by BC police chiefs, the BC Medical Association, and (based on after polls) by the public. Research has shown that people who operate a mobile phone while driving are four times more likely to crash and that drivers who text spend 400 percent more time with their eyes off the road than a normal motorist.

The new rules may pose an initial challenge for business professionals who need to take calls while on the road. Luckily, they have the option to update to a hands-free device so they can help keep roads safe while still conducting business as usual.

Article from Times Colonist:

B.C. motorists will soon be required to go hands-free on their cellphones while driving. If they don’t, they will face fines and penalties.

The provincial government moved yesterday to severely restrict when drivers can use mobile devices, including BlackBerrys and iPods.

In addition to the cellphone restriction, the new rules will ban anyone from sending text messages, typing BlackBerry e-mails, playing portable games and handling MP3 players when operating a motor vehicle.

Adult motorists will be allowed to use hands-free devices, like earpieces and speakerphones, to talk on a cellphone while driving. But they’ll have to dial the number using verbal or one-touch commands. New drivers, however, will be banned from using phones or sending messages, even with a hands-free device.

"These amendments will mean safer roads by helping to ensure drivers keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road," said B.C. Solicitor General Kash Heed. "We have all seen near misses on the road because drivers were not paying attention … At the end of the day I believe the changes I am announcing will save lives in British Columbia."

The changes come into effect Jan. 1 and fines of $167 begin after Feb. 1. Drivers caught texting or e-mailing will also have three penalty points added to their licences. New drivers who violate any part of the rules will receive three points. To continue driving, people who accumulate more than three points must pay a penalty points premium to ICBC.

Police, fire and ambulance drivers will be exempt, as will motorists who need to call 9-1-1 during an emergency.

The cellphone ban has been widely recommended by B.C. police chiefs and the B.C. Medical Association, and both groups praised the announcement yesterday.

"This is an issue whose time as come," said Brian Brodie, BCMA president. "There’s clear evidence that using mobile devices while driving increases the likelihood of automobile crashes and injury. It’s time to get the eyes of B.C. drivers back on the road."

Research shows people who talk on a phone while driving are four times more likely to crash, said Brodie. And drivers who text spend 400 per cent more time with their eyes off the road than a normal motorist, he said. "It’s too dangerous and nobody should be doing it, period."

In January, a 26-year-old Victoria man died when his truck jumped a concrete median and crashed into another truck on the Trans-Canada Highway near the Town and Country shopping centre. His BlackBerry showed that he was texting at the time of the crash — the first death attributed to texting in B.C.

Sgt. Ross Elliott of the region’s Integrated Road Safety Unit recalled a crash a few years ago in Saanich. It was a rollover where the driver, who escaped injury, admitted to being on her cellphone when she crashed. "As inconvenient as it may be to some people, I think it [the legislation] will have an influence on collisions caused by inattentive drivers … in a positive way," Elliott said.

After polls showed widespread approval for cellphone restrictions, the B.C. government promised to act on the issue in its August throne speech.

The Opposition plans to support the legislation, said Mike Farnworth, NDP house leader.

Four provinces already ban the use of hand-held cellphones while driving: Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec and Ontario.