Distracted Driving Month raises profile of the issue for a few weeks

They’re out there, standing discretely behind power poles or lurking around corners, trying to snare people who think they can talk, text and drive at the same time.

March is Distracted Driving Month and Ridge Meadows RCMP, along with citizen volunteers, are out on the road either warning people they could be ticketed or actually pulling them over and writing them up.

Ridge Meadows RCMP Sgt. Brenda Gresiuk said officers are out on the road throughout the year. March is just the month to draw attention to the dangerous habit.

“Some good things for the rules of the road to remind people during Distracted Driving Month is – don’t use your cellphone at a red light. Keep your hands off. If you’re tempted to use your cellphone, put it in your glovebox, put it in your trunk.

“And if you’re a learner or a novice [driver], you’re not allowed to use any electronic device.”

“Pull over to make calls,” she advises.

Gresiuk couldn’t say if more people continue to use cellphones behind the wheel, saying ICBC has statistics.

Gresiuk said it’s simply a matter of motorists learning new behaviour, just like they learned to buckle their seat belts decades ago.

Mobile phones and tablets and screens are just a fact of life today, she added, and people have to realize that.

“It’s a habit, a behaviour. People can change their behaviour.”

March also marks the start of ICBC’s driver risk premium program that will stick drivers with more and higher premiums if they have two convictions for using electronic devices within a three-year period.

That could cost motorists up to another $2,000 in fines – an increase of $740 – in addition to their regular insurance premium.

Police say that distracted driving is the leading cause of injury accidents in B.C. and that, on average, 27 people are killed in distracted driving-related crashes in Metro Vancouver each year.



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