Driving in Vancouver: BC-wide Cell Phone Ban (Part 2)

Are the new cell phone and electronic device restrictions in Vancouver and throughout BC really going to make us safer? Many studies indicate that drivers are just as distracted by electronic device usage while driving, even with a hands-free device.

With our new law, effective Jan 1, Vancouver and BC drivers have restrictions on the use of electronic devices while driving. An Angus Reid study from June 2008 found that 85% of drivers supported some level of a cell phone ban.

Hands-free is Not Actually Safer

A University of Calgary study from 2004 found no significant safety benefits to using a hands-free cell phone. They found that even though hand-free dialing may eliminate some of the distraction (as opposed to physically dialling), once you start a phone conversation, the distraction level is the same as using a hands-on phone while driving.

Accident Stats

• Cell phone while driving can decrease your brain processing and reaction time by 50%
• Distractions associated with cell phone usage while driving is comparable to driving drunk
• When text messaging, drivers spend about 400% more time with their eyes off the road
• Distracted driving (including cell phone use) contributes to about 25% of all motor vehicle accidents MVAs are the #1 cause of injury-induced death in people under 25 years of age

Common Driving Distractions

• Cell phone and electronic device usage
• Eating/drinking
• Manipulating vehicle controls
• Reaching for objects in the car

Activities not contributing to driver distraction include talking to a vehicle passenger, or listening to music or audio books.

Cell phone regulations are already in place throughout the world including parts of Australia, the United Kingdom, Finland, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Japan, Singapore, and several US States and Canadian Provinces.

For more information about the new BC-wide electronic device  and cell phone ban and rules, read my WriterGal post, or visit the ICBC Drive Cell Safe website.

(Stats from the Discussion Paper: “Addressing the Problem of Distracted Driving and its
Impacts to Road Safety” by the BC Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General)

Driving in Vancouver: BC-wide Cell Phone Restrictions (Part 1)

It's now illegal to use a hands-on cell phone in Vancouver and throughout BC (photo: Chance Agrella, freerangestock.com)

Aside from the 2010 Winter Olympic Buzz, Vancouver is talking about the new cell phone ban that came into effect on Jan 1, 2010. Here’s what every Vancouver driver needs to know.

The new law bans or restricts the use of certain portable electronic devices while operating a vehicle. It applies particularly to cell phone usage, but also applies to devices including PDAs, Mp3 players, and handheld electronic devices. Email and texting are now completely banned while driving.

Permitted Electronic Device Usage

You are permitted to answer calls using a hands-free device (such as a Bluetooth headset). Permitted hands-free devices or headsets must be:

• set-up and in place before turning on your vehicle
• operated by voice command or one-touch
• worn in one ear only (unless you are on a motorcycle)

You may use the full, hands-on capabilities of your electronic devices if:

• lawfully parked off the roadway
• calling emergency services (911) about an emergency
• using a hands-free device

Fixed GPS devices, portable music players and television screens may still be used as long as they are set-up before starting the vehicle, and are not operated (unless using voice commands) by the driver.

Emergency response personnel (peace officers, paramedics, and fire services) are permitted to use electronic communications devices in carrying out their job. Commercial drivers have similar device restrictions to regular drivers, but with additional permitted uses. Drivers in the Graduated Licensing program now have a full ban on using all electronic devices while driving…No exceptions.

Grace Period

During January, there is a one-month grace period in which you will only get a warning and a reminder. Starting February 1, 2010 you can be fined $167 plus 3 penalty points if you’re caught using an electronic device while driving in BC.

Hopefully this will help keep Vancouver roads safer. Visit the WriterGal blog tomorrow for more information about driving in BC.

For full details about the BC-wide electronic device and cell phone ban and rules, visit the ICBC Drive Cell Safe website.

Driving Through Rogers Pass, BC

Today we drove to Calgary and our trip took us through the beautiful Rogers Pass in British Columbia. We were lucky and didn’t run into any snow on the roads, but we saw plenty on the mountain peaks above.

Here are a few pictures, which I took from the passenger seat of the car (Don’t worry.. I wasn’t photographing and driving):

Travel Tip: Explore City Attraction Passes

Tourist Attraction passes like the ones for Vancouver and San Francisco, are a great value!

I am always on the lookout for ways to save money when I travel. I’ve found that city tourist or attraction passes are usually an excellent value. Here’s how they work:

How City Passes Work

First, you purchase the pass online, from a travel agent, or through a tourist information office. The prices vary widely depending on what’s included. Most recently I bought a Go San Francisco Pass and it included over 50 attractions and a 7-day pass cost about $160US.

You will then be given either a ticket booklet or a chip card which you then take to the listed attractions and you get in for free (or a discount, depending on the card). For example, the Southern California City Pass includes admission to 4 major theme parks and they give you a booklet of tickets to present for entry in the park, whereas the Go San Francisco Card gives you a wallet sized chip card that you scan for admission to each attraction.

Getting the best value

Research the available passes for the city or region you are visiting before you go:

1. Make a list of which included attractions you want to or have the means to visit (some are outside of town and require a car to visit).
2. See how much it would cost to visit these attractions individually and compare that to the cost of the card.
3. Check the validity dates of the pass you want to get. You may have the option to choose how many days you want the pass to be valid for, or it may give you a timeframe for the number of days your pass will be valid (from first activation).
4. Make sure that you have time to fit in all the attractions you’re planning to visit within the validity of the card.

Some city or attractions passes may include free public transportation. If not, see if that city offers a daily, weekly, or special tourist transit passes. Even if their transit system seems complicated, after one or two rides you’ll get the hang of it (if not, I’ve found people are usually pretty helpful if you ask for directions).

City & Attraction Pass Websites

Here is a list of some city and attraction passes throughout the world. I’ve only listed a few, so feel free to add some of your favourite passes below and let us know what you thought of them! I’ve italicized the passes I’ve personally used.

• Smart Destinations (Blue Ridge, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Maui, Miami, New York City, Oahu, Orlando, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto).
• Smart Visit Solutions (Melbourne, Sydney, Tasmania, and Vancouver)
• City Pass (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Hollywood, Huston, New York, Philadelphia, San Fransciso, Seattle, Southern California, Toronto)
• The London Pass (London, England)
• Paris Museum Pass (Paris, France)
• The Dublin Pass (Dublin, Ireland)

Happy Travels!

Flight Centre Toronto Travel Expo: Live Webcast

Today was the first time I have been interviewed on a live webcast. The gang at Flight Centre asked me to join them via skype and talk a little about my travels and about being one of the newest Guest Bloggers for the Flight Centre Blog. It was an amazing experience.

It was a quick chat, but exciting nonetheless! I tuned in throughout the day to listen to other guests and it sounded like everyone had a great time.

Flight Centre did a travel expo in Vancouver earlier this year and it was a blast. I can’t wait until the next Flight Centre Vancouver Travel Expo!

Here is the UStream recording of the chat. It’s got some lag between the video and audio:

Congrats to Flight Centre on another successful travel expo!

WriterGal Returns…What’s next?

Hello to all! We have finally returned from my road trip across the Western US. Twenty-four days is a long time to be away and both Dan and I are very glad to be home cooking our own meals and sleeping in our own bed!

I’ll be posting some photos and a recap from our trip soon.

After this month-long hiatus from the WriterGal blog, I’m excited to get back into the WriterGal blog again.Expect some more mash-ups, travel-related postings, and perhaps some photography. Part of our trip took us through Napa and Sonoma wine country and I now have a new interest in wine, so I may be sharing some of my new wine discoveries on the WriterGal blog!

As always, you never know where life will take you. We’ll just go with the flow and see what happens next…

5 (Possibly) Lesser Known Travel Tips

One of my favourite places to travel is Disneyland!

If you don’t already know, I absolutely LOVE to travel. I’ve been to 19 countries on 4 continents, most of which has been in the last 3 years. Here are my top 5 tips that the travel sites don’t always tell you!

1. Bags, Bags, Bags: Pack extra plastic bags and ziplock bags. They are great for wet clothes, dirty shoes, and anything you are too lazy to actually pack away. Throw in a few cloth shopping bags just in case you buy too many souvenirs.
2. Twist-Ties: These can be used to tie up plastic bags or even “lock” your zippers on your luggage so they don’t accidently come un-zipped all over the airport baggage room!
3. Print EVERYTHING: Print out copies of all your reservations. It’s not uncommon for airlines or hotels to lose your reservation, so have a back-up. I keep mine in a duo tang folder in the order that I’ll need it.
4. Bring Blank DVDs: Thankfully I’ve never lost my camera or my pictures from a trip, but I know people who have. Bring a few blank DVDs and stop somewhere to burn a copy of your photos on the disk. For added security, you could mail the DVD home.
5. Wear a watch: Now-a-days many people are using their cell phones as their watch. But, on vacation many of us have them turned off, or even leave them at home. Be sure to bring a good o’ fashioned watch so you don’t miss anything on your trip!

Bonus tip for fair-skinned people: BRING SUNSCREEN! As a fair-skinned gal, I always manage to get sunburned on my vacations. Once I burned my legs so bad in Australia, that it was painful to even walk or stand. You can’t predict the weather, but at least you can prepare for it by bringing a bottle of sunscreen.

My last vacation was a 7-day cruise to Alaska (round trip from Vancouver). My next vacation is a 4-week road trip around Western US

Where was your last vacation and where you are planning next?

WriterGal Uses Flight Centre for Travel Bookings

WriterGal's winning entry in the Flight Centre Photo Contest

A few weeks ago I entered a US Travel Photo contest through Flight Centre. Yesterday morning was the last day of the contest and I was announced as the winner!

I have booked many vacations through Flight Centre including an Intrepid Travel backpacking adventure in Cambodia and Vietnam (through a Sydney, Australia branch), a European cruise and EurRail Pass, and many flights. They always make it easy to book travel.

I’ve found it helpful to do some research before I visiting Flight Centre. Look up information on flights, accommodation, and activities so you can present that to your agent and they can help you either book those, or find similar (or better) ones.

Yes, I recommend Flight Centre to others. Other than using BCAA for the occasional booking, I usually book through Flight Centre.

PS: If you like travel, check out the Flight Centre blog for some exciting stories, news, and adventures.

20 Things You Don’t Know About Me

I see these “lists” all the time on Facebook, but this is my first time doing one myself. I know it’s silly and has no real value for anyone else, unless you’re interested in learning some interesting facts about my life, but it was kinda fun to find 20 misc facts about my life:

1. # of times at Disneyland: so many I lost count (including Anaheim, Paris, and Tokyo)
2. # of countries visited in lifetime: 19
3. # of countries visited in past 2 years: 14
4. # of US States I have visited: 10
5. # of Canadian Provinces Visited: 2
6. Girl Guides of Canada member: 13 years
7. First job after graduating College: Editor of a new lifestyle magazine.
8. First job ever: Receptionist for an engineering company (at age 15).
9. I lived in Australia for 5 months.
10. 5 years ago I didn’t understand why anyone would want to “blog” their lives.
11. The company I worked for in high-school went bankrupt, and forgot to tell me I was laid off (everyone else knew though).
12. I have green eyes.
13. I never got straight-A’s in school (came close a few times though).
14. I love oldies music (50s and 60s).
15. I cried during the last episodes of ER and Friends.
16. In high-school I took extra-curricular Drama, including a part in an abridged Richard III.
17. I love Ikea!
18. When I go to a restaurant, I always edit the menu and cringe at spelling mistakes.
19. A good fart joke will crack me up!
20. I can’t watch “Chicken Run” because their big teeth freak me out!

What interesting facts do you have about yourself?