New Driving Rules in New Brunswick (for new drivers)

Oh ... my poor home province. I know you are going through some rough times right now with everything and as much as I some times tend to disagree with some of your stances and decisions .. this one, I have to say I support 100%.

Apparently, new driving rules are coming into effect in the near future in New Brunswick for all drivers UNDER 21. They all have some impact on the graduated license system that New Brunswick (and several other provinces use).

Looking through the changes, I really don't see what the big deal is and why everyone wants to protest the changes. So, let's examine these changes that are taking place ...

As of June, 1st, 2009 the provincial government of New Brunswick will be instituting new driving laws within the province, mainly for those in the graduated license system. These new rules will include:

Level 1 licensees (before road test)

Must be accompanied by a driver who has a Class 5 licence or better, at least three years of driving experience and is seated in the front passenger seat

Cannot drive between midnight and 5 a.m.

Can take their road test after eight months if they complete a licensed driver training course.

Those who do not complete such a course must wait for 12 months to do the test.

hmmm .... these sound pretty familiar so far ... I think my 'waiting' period between getting my permit, taking the course and my road test was 4 months ... although it did wind up being more like 8 as I was away for much of the summer playing field hockey..... that cannot drive between midnight and 5 am is new but was also a rule my parents imposed on me rather than the government - that was the deal. Car is in the driveway by midnight or I was a dead duck. So what's the issue here ... government making decisions to help make the roads safer or the government taking on the roll that a parent should be? Ahem... my mother would like to point out that it was the car that had to be in the drive way by midnight ... not me. All I had to do was drop the car off in the driveway no later than 12:00am and then hop into someone else's car to continue the evening's festivities. Thankfully, this only lasted that first year :-D


Even now as a 27 (almost 28 year old), if I'm driving back or to somewhere's, my goal is to be off of the road by midnight no matter what. After midnight, you're exhausted - you mind isn't as alert and your reflexes are usually pretty shot by then.

Level 2 licensees (after road test)

Cannot drive between midnight and 5 a.m., except for education or work purposes, or if they’re accompanied by a driver who has a Class 5 licence or better, and at least three years of driving experienc

Cannot have more than three passengers in the vehicle, and no more than one passenger in the front seat.

All drivers under the age of 21 will be restricted to a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of zero.

Wow! OMG! The government is putting restrictions on when 16 year olds can drive! Oh No! Let's stop and think of this. Why would some one between the ages of 16-18 really need to be on the road between 12am and 5am? Uhm .. can we say munchies? Driving around with no purpose? The rules are not saying that you cannot be out driving - what they are saying is that unless you have a valid reason to be on the road (school, work, and you know, they will probably even let emergencies slide) then don't go on the road. Oh no! only three passengers in my car? That's all I could fit in my car (I drove a Neon) ... and yet again, that was also a rule that my parents placed on me as well as a early driver .. come to think of it, I was only allowed one passenger for the first year of my driving unless I asked if it was ok to have more than one first (to which my parents were completely fine with). Oh - and I had to abide by the whole BAC of zero too for the year I was on my G2 .. which coincidentally also was when I was of legal age. But Oh no! My parents stepped in again here ... and said No drinkie you can have car. You go drinkie no car. Common freaking sense. You drink you don't drive. Period.

FINES:

If any of these laws are broken and you are caught the following penalities are:

More than 3 passengers: 172.50$ + 3 points
Driving after midnight: 172.50$ + 3 points
No accompanying driver: 172.50$ + 3 points

Ok, maybe I find these a little off the wall ... but then again, I'm pretty sure I had a fine system that I had to abide by to .. in particular the accompanying driver (but only while I was under my G1).

I'm all for my government stepping in to make sure that the roads that I drive, bike and walk on are safer. And if these little changes to Driving rules helps, then so be it. Too often I have seen youth driving around recklessly thinking that they are invincible ... until they wind up wrapping themselves around a tree or injuring/killing some one else.

Gee ... I wonder if we could get something like this started up in Nunavut but applied to Skidoos and Honda's driven by my students at reckless speeds at all hours I cringe every time I see one of them go buy as 9/10 the either wipe out, do a 360 or nearly run into someone coming in the opposite direction

Nunavut's Response to the EU's ban on Seal Products

Just couldn't resist not posting this up ...

Have I ever said how much I hate packing?

It has been one busy long weekend for Kennie up in Arctic Bay. Now that the initial "OMG!" has worn off ... now comes the task (that I really really really do not like) - packing. So instead of enjoying the weekend and going fishing that is what I've been doing.

Packing. Sorting. Cleaning. Tossing. Reconsidering the Tossing. Tossing. [repeated for three days]. Thankfully, I have some help from the awesome Heather from across the street - don't know how I'd be able to do this without your help (and going do you really need this?).

Not too much left to pack now .. got a couple of coffee mugs (the Marc Tetro Polar Bear and Huskies mugs - to whom I hope don't get damaged on the way home ... as I love these mugs - if any one in AB is reading this and has any bubble wrap that they can donate to a good cause it would be appreciated!).

And of course, there is also the yard sale that will be happening later on this week .... and then again next weekend. Stuff has been moving out though, actually sold quite a bit so far - but there is still more to go!

And to add to the wonderful times here in AB, this week is exam week for my high school students. Boy are they in for a surprise .. especially some of them who haven't bothered coming in all week and then missed the massive Grammar review we did on Friday. Tomorrow is our last review day and I already have stuff planned for it - so I hope my students took good notes throughout the term (here's hoping they did!).

Oh, and also, my days have begun to meld into one long day. This whole 24 hour light thing .. not liking it too much this year - I am really noticing it this time around. My body just won't shut down at normal hours any more. I am freaking WIDE awake at night. Last night, I watched the first two LOTRs before my brain finally forced my body to give up and go to sleep at 3:00am ... and then of course, I'm back up at 8:00am cause it's light out! Sigh. I can handle the sleep deprevation for three more weeks ..... right?

Well back to drinking my camomile tea and listening to Diana Krall's new album ... maybe that will mellow me out some ....

A Lateral Move Across the North

Well, readers ... I have good news and bad news. Bad news is that soon, you won't be graced with my ramblings about life in the high Arctic. No more will you get to read my stories about water shortages, freezing door knobs, soccer games at 2am or crazy stories from school. 

After much debate, and thinking, and weighing the pros and cons, sadly, I am leaving Arctic Bay at the end of this school year. It's been a wild and wacky two years here in the high North and I don't think I could have asked for a better experience (or induction to teaching - I think I can handle pretty much anything now). 

Good news is that you will now (well.. soon) be able to read all about my ramblings about life in central Yukon. Soon you will hear about life with trees, bears, and moose .. and quite possibly, my washing machine attacking me. In mid August, I will begin my trek across Canada up to Yukon where I've recently accepted a permanent/continuing teaching position of grade 5/6 in Ross River. 

It's going to be a year of changes for Kennie, going from the high North to central Yukon where I can get satellite reception, where my satellite radio even works and where there are trees .. and quite possibly mosquitoes.  But I will also miss the high North of Arctic Bay and all of the wonderful people that I have had the opportunity to work with and learn from. Make sure to give me a ring if you make it to Yukon!

Do not worry readers, I will still be here on Tales from the Arctic for a while ... but starting in August, you can start following me and life in rural Yukon over on Tales from the Yukon. Hope to see you all over there!

How a Kindergarden Student Sees Me

As part of Teacher's Appreciation Week (that was held two weeks ago now), the kindergarden kids all drew pictures of staff members at school.

This is how I am represented by a kindergardener:

Oh I know, I know ... Kennie's a Bad Blogger

But can you blame me? Well, yes you could. But you won't right??

I mean, come on ... I'm dealing with no darkness at night now - I have no idea what time it is when I wake up (or go to sleep for that matter). And besides, I haven't had too many blog worthy moments as of late.

School is school - kids are kids .. nothing much to report there (other than I do wish that my morning high school kids would come to class - it's for their benefit more than mine :-) ).

Things are starting to wind up and wind down at the same time here in the North. Countdown to the fishing derby as started for some, while countdown to summer vac-cay-cay has started for others.

Hopefully something today will inspire me to get out of this blog-funk ... it's just that time of year where it's getting harder and harder to find things to blog about ...