Some drivers got tickets, some got off with warnings as local Mounties and volunteers conducted a distracted driving blitz Wednesday in Port Coquitlam.
Coquitlam RCMP along with police in other parts of B.C. are on a distracted driving enforcement campaign in March. The plan is to remind drivers that use of any handheld electronic device while driving is against the law.
Wednesday in PoCo, volunteers with clipboards wrote down the licence plate numbers of drivers who were talking on cell phones, texting and not wearing seat belts. They then called officers who were waiting on Elgin Avenue and Shaughnessy Street. The distracted drivers were pulled over and given a ticket or warning.
According to Kathleen Nadalin, ICBC's road safety co-ordinator, on average 88 people die every year in crashes where distracted driving is a contributing factor - that means distracted drivers are responsible for 28% of all of B.C.'s car crash fatalities, the second leading cause of such deaths.
"I think people sometimes forget that it takes lots of mind power to be able to drive safely," Nadalin said. "You get sucked into a text or email and it becomes very dangerous, and you're four times more likely to cause a car crash."
"We want people to leave their phone alone and get the message," said Cpl. Jamie Chung, media relations officer for Coquitlam RCMP. "Missing a text or call isn't going to kill you but distracted driving will."
Coquitlam RCMP handed out 2002 tickets for distracted driving in 2014.
The use of hand-held personal electronic devices while driving has been banned since 2010 but some drivers still aren't getting the picture. The penalty for the offence is a $167 fine and three penalty points on their driving record.
