Distracted driving needs to have same social stigma as drunk driving: expert

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – What will it take to get people to put down the phone behind the wheel?

After delving into a “road rage report” that puts distracted driving, especially texting, at the top of the list of irritants on your commute, News1130 is speaking with an expert about stopping the behaviour.

Steve Wallace, CEO of Wallace Driving School, says distracted driving will continue to be a major problem until we give it the same social stigma as drunk driving. But he says progress is being made and it seems there is one particular age group that might be getting the message.

“In the initial stages, when you make impressions on young drivers, you have a graduated licensing program like the one that exists in our province. When you have the toughest driving test in North America, it makes a safety impression on them,” Wallace tells News1130.

“I’ll tell you, the young people in our province are much more attuned to safe driving than the baby boomers ever were. It is changing for the better, but it’s going to take a seven-to-10 year turn to really get this whole process in the bag in the same manner as we view drinking and driving.”

Wallace says distracted driving has surpassed drunk driving as the chief cause of death and serious injury on the road. “The problem is it became a habit before it was against the law. And that’s a tough habit to break.”

Wallace believes that increasing fines and awareness is a good start, but society has to make it socially unacceptable to text while driving in order to start saving lives.

“That comes through social media, news outlets like News1130, and a basic frowning upon of the process. You know if people drink and drive, people die. More people are going to die and be seriously injured if you text.”

Besides reporting offences, Wallace would like to see drivers hit their horn three times if they see someone “crotch driving” or overtly texting.

“That will tell everyone in the area that something is wrong. One toot is for moving forward, two is for backing up — every professional knows that — so let’s make three toots an awareness that something is wrong in the immediate area and other drivers are at risk.”

“The last thing you want to do is be inciting road rage by screaming or swearing at somebody and starting a confrontation, but by raising awareness, saying ‘we see you, it’s inappropriate, stop it,’ that is something that will go a long way in saving lives on our highways.”