The worst part is the police are advertising they are doing this and they will still catch lots of idiots texting etc.

If caught should fine them and take phones away for a month. They are risking everyone’s lives while texting and driving but they don’t care.

Cracking down for the month of February??? Why not for the other 11 months?

Lets hope they don’t waive a blind eye on business vehicles .

Time to call it what it is! Impaired Driving, and charge them accordingly.

It doesn’t matter P Val! People think they are so important they will use their little toys no matter what! When the cops pull them over they looked shocked that there is a fine.

This is not a defense for ‘distracted driving’ but ….

Why are we not surprised that distracted drivers are surprised … the cops do not enforce the speed limits, full stops at red lights or stop signs when turning right, smoking pot in public(especially in Vancouver), etc, etc so why should the entitled public expect that cops will enforce the prohibited used of hand held electronics?

Consistency is the most important aspect of enforcement …

Like when the driver of the police cruiser types on his laptop installed on that special mount inside their vehicle.
I can’t count the number of times that I have observed RCMP using a cell phone while driving.

Do as I say, not as I do?
Lead by example?

“Consistency is the most important aspect of enforcement” .. no, common sense is the most important aspect of enforcement. Every situation should have a decision made based on several factors, otherwise we may as become a total police state where sneezing in public with be grounds to put you under house arrest until your cold is gone.
I don’t condone distracted driving, in fact it burns the hell out of me when I see someone stupid enough to do it. But that shouldn’t be put into the same basket as every other minor motor vehicle infraction that doesn’t put anyone at risk.

Yeah rite…..the Misfits we got …hehehe…their pens freeze in this cold…

Don’t think they will be standing around in this cold counting cell phones. But you never now, just don’t turn your back.

yeah consistency would be nice!! so this month I may be a bit safer because cops are targeting distracted drivers, but what about the rest of the year? and what about speeders and idiots that don’t know what that wee stick beside their steering wheel is for?

I agree with Huh that common sense is also an important component of enforcement.

Huh says, “But that shouldn’t be put into the same basket as every other minor motor vehicle infraction that doesn’t put anyone at risk.”

Common sense would suggest:

If other minor motor infractions don’t put people at risk, why are they infractions?

If you only enforce the rules occasionally, when do you expect the rules to be followed?

And to other posters observations, if the police cannot follow the rules, how important are the rules?

Yes, common sense is important AND consistency is a key component of common sense. To argue otherwise is to buy into the egocentric, self-entitled, rules do not apply to me because I am in the center of the universe position.

Not one of you broke the speed limit on the way to work today, right? Signaled every intention? Full stops at the stop signs?
(or smoked an illegal substance as the case may be for some ;)

just making sure…

There is already a gadget which disables a cell phone that is used in the vehicle when the engine is running. Governments are considering legislation which will make this mandatory, like back up cameras for all new vehicles.

If people will not use common sense and keep disobeying existing distracted driving laws Big Brother will step in and
make it yet another costly item to be included in the price of each new vehicle.

It is safety issue so it will have no trouble passing.

Exactly, PrinceGeorge. The Government once again comes in to save people from themselves and their stupid decisions, and we all get to pay for it.

The nanny-staters must be happy about this.

Thanks for the support interceptor … you illustrate and prove my point with clarity … the norm has been become to ignore the laws … as they are seldom enforced … how is little Johnny/Jane supposed to know which rules to follow today when they have been observing many laws routinely ignored for most of their lives?

Don’t be too erratic avoiding oncoming traffic on narrow unploughed streets. Be graceful avoiding potholes and ruts on some of our streets which have 4 or 5 inches of solid ice. Don’t let snow “removal” equipment fatigue you by waking you up at 3 AM only to find out they didn’t plow yer street but put some gravel down at the intersections. Lastly, if you do get pulled over do not have a hatchet for chopping ice in plain sight. And always remember a policeman is your friend and the city gets 25% of your fine. Think of that 25% going towards our new PAC. That oughta make you be good.

Let us just hope all this enforcement of laws does not distract drivers too much. ;-)

I would love to see them enforce the distraction of drivers that are not visible in the same way that cell phones are visible ….. the mere act of thinking about anything other than driving can be considered to be distraction … what to make for supper … I know I was supposed to do something else …. that sure was a great meeting …. how am I going to convince Martin of that …..

Untold millions of distractions while driving … sort of like having to watch a commercial on TV because you forgot to record it on the PVR.

Humans go through their lives in a distracted state …

I agree with Loki… Why are the police able to drive around looking at there laptops, talk on their phones I had to wait at a green light until he was done looking down( probably on his lap top)

Interceptor… I do speed, I do not and never have ran a red light or a stop sign.. I am not a perfect driver.. and yes I have had a few speeding tickets in my life.. but when I do get “caught” I dont bitch or complain.. I just take the ticket and get on with life.

Here goes………also be on the look out for motorized scooters and cyclist that also pose a threat and distraction for drivers..and yes they both use the roads in winter..I said that?

Loki/Carpenter, I used to think that, however, I realized a cop in his PC is probably the least dangerous distracted driver as everyone else around him is exercising their best driving behavior, all eye’s on the cop car:)

motorized scooters and cyclist have as much right to public roads as motor vehicles. That includes the roadway itself up to an entire lane if there is no available sidewalk. How would you like those scooters to actually take over an entire lane as is their right by statute?

Just because you are fortunate enough to afford a motor vehicle and still have adequate health to retain a license does not give you any god given right over all transport routes.

Mind you, I have noted a few distracted pedestrians and cyclists. They are idiots. Some scooter operators do need to take more care and attention.

So where does the money for these fines go?

All the money should be funnelled back into the community. Does anyone know where all the fines go???

“motorized scooters and cyclist have as much right to public roads as motor vehicles. That includes the roadway itself up to an entire lane if there is no available sidewalk.”

As long as they follow the rules of the road. As aatter of fact you can be ticketed for riding your bike on the sidewalk!

“I don’t condone distracted driving, in fact it burns the hell out of me when I see someone stupid enough to do it. But that shouldn’t be put into the same basket as every other minor motor vehicle infraction that doesn’t put anyone at risk.”

Exactly Huh, this is impaired driving, 27% of all fatalities in BC isn’t minor stuff. The fines should be the same as impaired driving.

You take out my one of my loved ones because you are on your little toy,
!!! You won’t need a lawyer!

Cyclists seem to think they get the best of both worlds.. ride on the roads or sidewalks.. what ever suits them.. or wait at the lights and go with car traffic or use the pedestrian cross walk.. and dismount and walk across the road.. or ride in the oncoming lane..

If they are considered a vehicle.. then follow the rules of the road the car/trucks etc do.. and get insurance.. if they dont want to follow the rules cars have to then dont expect to be treated as a car.. walk across cross walks etc.

A percentage of the money from Police fines are returned to the Municipalities where the tickets were written. PG receives approx. $1.5 Million per year, which I believe goes into General Revenue.
(Perhaps to help pay for the police who write the tickets?)

Now for some interesting statistics that might help people to better understand distracted driving.

When the Erie Insurance Group studied 65000 fatal crashes over a two-year span (2010-11), its researchers found that one in 10 were attributed to driver distraction, and 62 percent were blamed on daydreaming–five times as many as talking or texting on a mobile phone. The study was based on a nationwide database, kept by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, called the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, or FARS, that tracks all vehicle deaths. **The results were disturbing** says Erie senior vice president Doug Smith.

So there you have it. While we are railing against hand held devices as being the big distractor, we now find that daydreaming which effects all drivers is a bigger factor.

One must keep in mind that seeing a person using a hand held device makes for any easy conviction, and for all intents and purposes does not require going to court. Daydreaming on the other hand could result in a driving without due care and attention charge, with a higher fine, and perhaps an appearance in court. Much harder to prove, and more expensive to prosecute.

If you want more information on daydreaming and driving just put **How dangerous is daydreaming while driving** in your search engine.

Have a nice day.

The cynic in me suggests that distracted driving tickets are really nothing more than a source of revenue for the police, municipalities and government.

If the government, ICBC, Police, etc were really really concerned about saving lives, the penalties would be far more onerous. The current level of penalty is simply seen by most drivers as a cost of doing business so to speak.

Imagine just how quickly the use of cellphones would drop in the penalty was $1,000.00 along with confiscation of the phone. This would dramatically reduce the number of people willing to risk a phone call! It would also dramatically reduce the revenue generated by tickets!

Imagine how few of us would speed if the minimum ticket for speeding was $1,000.00 after allowing perhaps a 5 km over the limit tolerance! Lives would be saved while ticket revenue would dry up!

Perhaps I would be less cynical if the Police, the Government and ICBC would put a bit more effort into enforcing all of the current traffic laws instead of just a few politically correct ones. Few drivers seem to know what a signal light is, let alone what it is used for. Few seem to understand what a stop sign is for. Merging is a challenge for most as is turning from or into the correct lane!

As far as distracted driving, I see people every day driving around with loose pets in their vehicle, all to often on the driver’s lap. This seems like it would qualify as distracted driving and yet I’ve never known of or heard of anyone getting a ticket for this.

Isn’t ‘distracted driving’ part of something on the books already called “driving without due care and attention”?

In any case, far too many people take the act of driving too casually and feel it is their god-given right. I don’t know if anything or any law will change the mindsets of these people.