BC should have stiffer distracted driving penalties like Ontario: Young Drivers of Canada

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – You see them all the time, people texting and talking on their cell phones not hands-free while behind the wheel.

Soon, Ontario will have stiffer penalties for distracted drivers: a fine of up to $1,000. The law was passed in the legislature Monday and is waiting to be signed.

Kurtis Strelau with Young Drivers of Canada in the Lower Mainland agrees it is extreme but he completely supports the move.

“I can count on seeing at least if not three or four on my commute which is about a 40 minute commute each way. Anything that would make our roads safer, I’m all for it. Sometimes you have to hit them right where they live which is right in their pocket.”

However, he doesn’t believe the province of BC would go for it.

“Are we going to see it here is hard to say. The government in Ontario has just got a new mandate. They got four years to get people to forget this. It’s hard to say what [the province of BC] will do. It’s like my idea of mandatory road testing every five years for everybody; its political suicide.”

The new law in Ontario will make it more expensive to get caught while driving stoned as well as hitting a cyclist with your car door. Also, cyclists in the eastern province without proper reflectors or lights could face fines up to $500.

The distracted driving fine in BC is $167 plus three demerit points.

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