Police still issuing a lot of distracted driving tickets, despite stiffer fines
Posted April 5, 2018 3:03 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
COQUITLAM (NEWS 1130) – The law has been in place for years in BC, but it looks like drivers still don’t get the message: stay off your phone when behind the wheel.
Coquitlam RCMP just wrapped up another distracted driving campaign and the numbers are up.
Mounties say last month, officers wrote twice the number of distracted driving tickets as they did in March of 2017. Seventy-two tickets were handed out in March of 2017. This March that number rose to 145.
“It looks like our enhanced enforcement efforts, combined with the use of special techniques like a bucket truck to spot people using their phones, were very effective,” says Corporal Michael McLaughlin with Coquitlam RCMP. “Ultimately our goal is not to write tickets, but to educate people that distracted driving is illegal, dangerous, and carries stiff financial penalties,” adds McLaughlin.
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If you think what Coquitlam Mounties handed out was a lot, officers in Vancouver issued 1,659 tickets for distracted driving in March alone.
“Although the campaign is over, our officers are still targeting people using their phones while behind the wheel. We want drivers to put their phone away and avoid the temptation to check it. Road safety remains a priority for the VPD and we will continue to issue tickets for unsafe driving behaviours,” says Constable Jason Doucette.
New stiffer penalties for distracted driving were introduced earlier this year.
The new fines came into effect on Mar. 1, meaning anyone caught driving distracted twice in three years could face added increases to their insurance premiums and fines up to $2,000, a $740 increase over the previous penalty.
