Nova Scotia drivers face new laws on smoking, cell phones
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia—Drivers on provincial highways will have to put down their cell phones, and some will have to butt out their smokes, when a pair of laws take effect next Tuesday in Nova Scotia.
It will be against the law in the province to use a hand-held cell phone while driving and to smoke in a vehicle while children are present. The new rules kick in April 1.
Similar laws have been enacted or are pending in Maine. Last September, a Maine law prohibiting anyone under 18 years old from driving while using a mobile phone or handheld electronic device took effect. A bill to outlaw smoking in a car in which children under 16 are present was pending Tuesday in the state Legislature.
As of July 1, California will join five other states in requiring drivers to use handsfree devices when talking on cell phones.
Nova Scotia's new cell phone law has spiked sales of handsfree mobile devices, according to companies that sell the devices.
The fine for using a hand-held phone while driving will be $164.50 for the first offense, $222 for a second and $337 for any subsequent offenses. The fine for smoking in a car with children under 18 years old present will be $394.50.
"We don't want to make criminals out of moms and dads," said Barry Barnet, the province's minister of health promotion and protection. "We want to make them aware of the fact there is a consequence to this, and it's a negative consequence to the health of their children, particularly in relation to the smoking element.
Newfoundland and Labrador banned the use of hand-held phones while driving in 2003.
rising
falling 