Distracted drivers not getting the message
Posted Jan 31, 2011 12:24:07 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BURNABY (NEWS1130) – The law banning the use of hand-held cell phones in the car and any other behavior that takes a driver’s attention away from the road is now one year old.
RCMP Superintendent Norm Gaumont says drivers just aren’t getting the message and police are not happy. “People think they can do more than one thing while driving. Well I’m here to tell you, you can’t… I’m not even a fan of Bluetooth. I would go as far as to say get rid of talking altogether.”
About 32,000 tickets were handed out across BC last year, while 125 road deaths occurred in the Lower Mainland in 2010. Gaumont says distracted driving is responsible for nearly half of all traffic deaths across that area in 2010.
Penalties cost offenders $167 and three demerit points. Police have been told not to just hand out warnings.
