Recently a man received a ticket for distracted driving for answering a text message while waiting in line at a Beaumont area Tim Horton's drive through. While there is some speculation that he may have been texting on the way to Tim Horton's as well, it seemed like a good time to take another look at Alberta's distracted Driving Legislation. 

Recently a man received a ticket for distracted driving for answering a text message while waiting in line at a Beaumont area Tim Horton's drive through. He's On September 1, 2011 Alberta became the first province in Canada to write a law that addresses distracted driving and cell phone use. It is also Canada's most comprehensive distracted driving law, which has led to a bit of confusion over what activities would be considered breaking the law and what would be perfectly legal. Read below to dispel some of these myths.

Filling up your gas tank may seem like a pretty simple task, but if you were to watch people at the pump you'd begin to notice some nuances to how every one does it. For example: you may be the type of person who plays the market and only puts $20 in, hoping that prices will go down next time you need gas. Or you may fill your tank right up stopping when the pump clicks off. OR you may be the one who always tops up the tank even after the pump has stopped once.

With statistics like the ones below, letting your teen take the wheel for the first time can be a scary experience for parents. It's important to ensure that your son or daughter is given the tools to keep them as safe as possible on the road.

Providing car insurance for a teen driver can be an expensive endeavour. The fact is that as new drivers, teens are perceived to be a higher risk for insurance companies. Our brokers hear questions like these on a daily basis: 

According to GM Canada, an airbag propels out of a dashboard at up to 320 kilometres per hour – faster than the blink of an eye. Though they are designed to absorb the impact of a crash for adult motor vehicle passengers and drivers, children can suffer major injuries from an air bag.

Air Bag Safety Recomendations

To keep children injury-free while riding in your car, consider these safety recommendations:

• Place small infants in rear-facing child safety seats in the backseat.
• Place toddlers over 1 year old and at least 9 kilograms in forward-facing convertible safety seats in the backseat of the vehicle. Since these car seats would situate the child several centimetres closer to the dashboard, they pose a risk for air bag injuries if they are placed in the front seat. Therefore, they must be placed in the backseat only.
• Place children who have outgrown convertible safety seats but do not fit correctly with a lap/shoulder seat belt in a car booster seat in the back seat of the vehicle.
• Children under age 12 should ride in the backseat of the vehicle with a seat belt securely fastened.

Soon the roads will be slicker than a skating rink and we want you and your families to stay safe, and avoid unnecessary car insurance claims.

Your neighbour drives a BMV M Roadster, while you get around in a sporty 2000 Honda Civic SiR. You both have clean driving records and travel the same distance to work. The BMV is worth more than the Civic, and then the shock comes—you’re paying more for auto insurance. Consumers are left asking why—well, the answer is clear.

Every vehicle make, model and year available in Canada is rated according to the Canadian Loss Experience Automobile Rating (CLEAR) system. This rating system assesses each type of vehicle based on expected claims frequency and cost, and the likelihood the vehicle will be stolen. This assists in calculating insurance rates—the lower the claims risk, the lower the rates, and the higher the claims risk, the higher the rates.