Why do we have to keep writing about something that seems so flat-out stupid?
Yes, we’re talking about distracted driving – and the fact that the province of British Columbia felt it necessary to increase the penalties for that offence because drivers simply aren’t getting the message.
B.C. Justice Minister Suzanne Anton just announced new penalties, effective Oct. 20, for drivers who are caught talking on a hand-held device while driving. With the new penalties, drivers will get three demerit points, which remain on a person’s driving record for five years.
The penalty for getting more than one distracted driving ticket in a year will be at least $634: the total of two fines (at $167 a pop), plus a $300 penalty premium for six points.
On top of driver penalty points (which are paid by everyone even if they don’t insure a vehicle), there are Autoplan insurance premium penalties, ranging from $175 for four points to $24,000 for 50 or more points.
We have to applaud the government’s insistence on tackling this problem – which, sadly, doesn’t seem to be going away on its own.
A recent blitz in New West, for instance, saw the cops issue 32 distracted driving tickets in less than three hours. Seriously?
We were sure that, eventually, people would catch on to the fact that distracted driving is just as dangerous as drunk driving.
We can only hope that, one of these days, people will get the message – as many have with drunk driving – that driving while chatting on a hand-held phone or watching a DVD is a stupid move that puts lives at risk.
In the meantime, we just have to sigh. How often can you say “Put down the damn phone and pay attention to the road” before you just give up in despair?
Here’s hoping that where words have failed, money will talk loudly enough that drivers finally clue in.
