N.L. police need no reason to stop drivers
Province's Highway Traffic Act changes Friday
Last Updated: Thursday, September 30, 2010 | 6:43 PM NT
CBC News
Police in Newfoundland and Labrador will be able to pull over drivers without having to give a reason beginning Friday.
Legislative changes made to the Highway Traffic Act to address safety on the province's highways come into effect Oct. 1.
Government Services Minister Kevin O'Brien said it's part of an effort to crack down on impaired driving.
"We brought that forward because the police were having a problem in regards to having a specific item to pull a driver over, had to be visual and if you didn't have a specific item to pull them over and they were impaired or under the influence of drugs, or whatever, there is a perception that it wouldn't hold up in court," O'Brien said Thursday.
When the change was proposed last spring, St. John's criminal lawyer Bob Simmons said it would give police too much power and could lead to abuse.
"Right now for police to stop people, they have to have a justifiable objective cause. Why is that? Because if we don't have a reasonable rational reason for police to stop someone then the powers can be misused. That's the law as it presently sits," he said in June.
Beginning Friday, texting with a hand-held device while driving will also be illegal. Fines will range from $100 to $400.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/09/30/nl-driving-laws-930.html#ixzz119S727qM







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