Recent statistics from the police and ICBC make it clear drivers are still not getting the message when it comes to distracted driving.
We were shocked by a story in our sister paper a couple of weeks ago about two women who were issued a $368 distracted driving ticket for playing Pokémon Go while driving in Burnaby.
Really? Yes, really.
Burnaby RCMP Cpl. Daniela Panesar told the NOW it was a bit of a surprise to have two incidents related to the same augmented-reality game occur in the same day.
No kidding.
Distracted driving – mostly through the use of texts, tweets, GIFs and memes – now accounts for more crashes and accident-related injuries than impaired driving.
Perhaps that’s not surprising.
It’s taken a generation of police enforcement and social condemnation for drunk driving to be considered unacceptable.
But we’re far from unified when it comes to condemning cellphone use as an increasing number of drivers feel they have concentration to spare.
We don’t. Even a hands-free phone has a way of annexing mental capacity we need for things like suddenly slamming on the brakes.
Technology is such a part of our lives that it’s hard to imagine a bus stop or public plaza where the majority of people aren’t standing with their heads bowed over their mobiles. The technology plugs into our brains to create a positive feedback loop. It’s hard for most of us to put it down.
But as long as our phones are smarter than we are, maybe it’s time we started using technology to fight back, disabling our phones while driving and creating automatic messages that warn potential callers and text mates when a driver is behind the wheel.
Fines have helped. But if authorities really want to crack down, how about impounding a guilty driver’s cellphone for a few days or a month?
Clearly, those who can’t put down their phones, despite the evidence that they are risking their own lives and the lives of others, are addicted.
And, as we had to do with drunk drivers, the best way to help save lives is to either take the booze away or take the car away.
Let’s start taking the cellphones away.
