Canadian Legislative Updates

Prince Edward Island Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Ron MacKinley has announced the introduction of a new intelligent transportation system.  This system will help save the trucking sector valuable time, fuel and operating costs.  The system is in place in advance of the provincial highway weigh scales at Borden-Carleton.

The Minister highlighted that through this investment, they will continue to do the vital regulatory work at the Borden Scales, but they can also save a lot of time for the hundreds of trucks that cross the Confederation Bridge each and every day.

Key components of the new system include pavement sensors, a fiber optic link to the provincial weigh scale facility and computerized weigh-in-motion technology, which allows for pre-screening of individual trucks as they arrive on Prince Edward Island.  Through the system, only the most relevant loads will be directed to the scale house for inspection.  The majority will be directed to proceed without having to stop and report to the scale.

The weigh-in-motion technology uses multiple sensors to accurately identify the vehicle’s gross vehicle weight and width of the load.  In addition, it also captures the license plate information.  After all information is received via a computer system, direction to report to scale or to proceed will be returned to the driver via a roadside electronic message sign.  This system will play a key role in smoothing out the flow of traffic through the community.



Alberta’s new distracted driving law came into effect on September 1, 2011.  This is the most comprehensive distracted driving legislation in Canada.  Minister of Transportation Luke Ouellette highlighted that this legislation will help to keep Albertans safer while on the road.

The new law prohibits the use of hand-held cellphones for talking or texting, along with the use of other electronic devices, reading, writing and personal grooming while driving.  Cellphones can only be used in a hands-free or voice-activated manner.

Since June 2011, the government has been running a public education and awareness campaign to help Albertans prepare for the new law.  The campaign provided information about the law itself and how to comply with it.  Advertisements also ran in newspapers, radio and online.

Under the new law, drivers engaged in any of the restricted activities can be charged a fine of $172.