In 2006, 717 people died in car accidents on Quebec roads. In order to reduce this number as much as possible, the Minister of Transport, Julie Boulet, proposed a new road safety legislation on November 13. Yesterday, members of the National Assembly of Quebec voted on it.

Every proposed measure was ratified by opposition parties, except for one: reducing the blood-alcohol limit from 0.08 to 0.05. The opposition prefers hiring more police officers than unnecessarily penalizing drivers who drink moderately. Right now, Quebec is the only province to tolerate a blood-alcohol limit higher than 0.05.


Here are the new measures that were adopted:

Mandatory winter tires
Starting next year, every vehicle registered in Quebec will have to be equipped with winter tires from December 15th to March 15th. Quebec becomes the first Canadian province to make winter tires mandatory.

Photographic radars
Photographic radars and cameras will be implemented at specific traffic lights in 15 communities across three regions of the province as part of an 18-month trial period. Fear not, because the location of these radars will be disclosed in the upcoming weeks.

Cellphones
Considering that using a hand-held cellphone while driving is a major source of distraction that increases the risk of getting into an accident, hands-free technologies will have to be used by drivers. Those who do not comply are now prone to receive hefty fines and lose a number of demerit points.

Repeat offenders
Penalties to repeat offenders will now be stiffer. For example, they will pay higher fines and lose more demerit points.

New drivers
It will be compulsory for new drivers to take driver education courses in order to obtain their driver's license. Also, the number of demerit points will gradually increase for drivers age 25 and under.

Ads promoting reckless driving
With the new law, the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) is responsible for regulating automobile-related advertisements. Any ad promoting reckless driving, bad driving habits or disrespect for the Road Safety Act will be forbidden.

Heavy vehicles
Truck drivers are also targeted by the new legislation. From now on, all heavy trucks will have to be equipped with governors to limit their speed to 105 kph.