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‘Drexting’ fines are getting tougher. If you’re seen gabbing on your cell or texting, be prepared to pay up big time.
Every day, more than 800 crashes occur in B.C. According to police stats, more than a quarter of all car crash fatalities are caused by distracted driving. An average of about 78 people in B.C. are killed by distracted drivers, according to ICBC. The new distracted driving fine of $368 was released in June, 2016. But this month, police are cracking down hard and trying to get the message out: distracted driving won’t be tolerated in B.C.
Vancouver police hit the streets this weekend, armed and ready to ticket cell phone users. Already in Kelowna, people have been ticketed for talking on their phone via speaker phone, while having the phone in their lap.
The use of personal electronic devices while driving was banned on January 1, 2010 for drivers in B.C. But this month, police seem to be saying enough is enough.
A Kelowna driver was ticketed this week while stopped at a red light and talking to her mom on speaker phone. The ticket for a first offence is $368, plus four points.
"Like I'm mad that I have to pay it because it is expensive and they say that you get a discount, but if you pay within a month it's $20 dollars off, which is nothing,” she said.
“It's not like I'm texting and driving while on the highway and like putting people at risk. I was at a red light and I was trying my best to be hands free. So I was punished basically for not having enough money to buy a Bluetooth device,” said the driver.
The driver said she was stopped at a red light with her phone in her lap and was talking to her mom on speaker phone. Her phone went off speaker phone and a police officer saw her try to switch the speaker phone back on.
“The light was red and other lights were green so I couldn't go anywhere and then the cop was in a ghost car. It was a gold Yukon,” she said.
She ended her call and pulled over, as she was signaled to do.
"He said 'Oh you know you were distracted driving. Was it an emergency?' “
“I was like 'I wasn't distracted driving, I was just talking to my mom on speaker phone and was turning it on to speaker phone so I would be hands free,'” she told the police officer.
She was told by the officer that he had no choice but to give her a ticket, resulting in a $368 fine, not including demerit points. The driver had also forgotten her driver’s license at work, but was given a warning for failing to provide her license.
The driver is a new resident to Kelowna and a student. She says she’s not sure how she’s going to pay the fine and is hoping there is a payment plan available.
"It is a lot. Especially when you're like a student or like just starting out in Kelowna. Like I don't have like four hundred bucks to spare,” she said.
KelownaNow decided to see how many drivers actually are on their phones in traffic. While driving from downtown to the Orchard Park Mall, KelownaNow spotted three drivers using their mobile devices.
If you’re wondering what you can and can’t do when it comes to personal electronic devices, the section 214.2 of the Motor Vehicle Act is listed below:
What do you think? Are the fines too stiff or not stiff enough? Do the rules seem fair? Will the hefty fine be effective in cracking down on distracted driving?
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