Time Running Out to Have Your Say on Distracted Driving Fines
Prince George, B.C.- There is just a day and a half left to submit your thoughts on revisions to distracted driving fines in B.C.
The Province is reviewing the fine and penalty structure as distracted driving has become the second leading factor in fatalities on B.C. roads, the first being speed, the third being impaired driving.
Currently the fine is $167 and drivers receive three penalty points . The question is, is that enough to deter the behavior?
The fine amount is the second lowest in the nation. Ontario has just passed legislation that will change the maximum fine to $1,000 and in Nova Scotia the maximum is $579 dollars. In Manitoba, the Canadian Automobile Association is pressing the government there to suspend the license of anyone caught using a hand held device while driving.
The Attorney General recently put out a call for Northern British Columbians to take part in the public consultation, saying northerners have been very poorly represented in the submissions so far making up just 5% of the responses, yet more than 17% of the fatalities linked to distracted driving have taken place in Central and Northern B.C.
Although it has been five years since the distracted driving law came into effect in B.C., last year, there were 55 thousand tickets issued for the infraction, up from 53 thousand tickets issued the year before.
Some of the issues being considered include:
- should texting face a greater penalty than talking on a hand held device?
- should there be greater penalties for new drivers or repeat offenders?
- should the province consider immediate roadside prohibitions and vehicle impoundment?
The deadline for submissions is 4 p.m. tomorrow, July 16th. You can make a submission by visiting the consultation website which can be accessed here.
Comments
Like any behaviour, no reasonable fine or penalty will deter people from this kind of thing. They continue to do it because 99.99% of the time nothing bad happens. People still drink and drive even though the consequences can be devastating.
What I would like to see is a device that totally disables the phone once you enter a vehicle. But then people will complain that you’re infringing on their rights.
Meh. Keep doing it and suffer the consequences. That’s the way it’s gonna be.
No one seems to realise this thing called a vehicle has killed so many people over the years. If it where any other object with this amount of killing, it would have been banned and taken away. And still it is acceptable to put peoples lives in danger while running it. You can take it and run over someone on purpose and claim it was an accident and see no jail time.
I was distracted from submitting my thoughts about distracted driving fines.
I am not sure why they should be any different than fines given for driving without due care and attention.
Re Section 144 driving without due care and attention
From a lawyers page: The minimum fine for a traffic violation under Section 144 is $100. However, most tickets issued by police will be around $368. The maximum fine is defined by the Offence Act and is $2000.
Just enforce the laws we have.
Never mind makeing new laws. Just give the maximum fine on the books for a 1st offence and double it
for a 2nd one That should get the message across about distracted driving.
JUST enforce the laws we have.
We should add eating a full meal while driving to the list.
Hey what a coincidence, the government is raising fines imposed on us if we start a forest fire.
Hey what a coincidence, the government is asking us how much they should fine us for driving while distracted.
Hey what a coincidence, the government continues to punish us as a source of revenue, and asks us how much we should be punished.
We seem to be the most compliant sheeple on the face of this planet.
Sophic, another ridiculous post from you!
You of all people should be applauding any and all efforts to reduce forest fires! Does not a healthy green forest contribute to a healthier environment?
You of all people should be applauding any and all efforts to reduce distracted driving. Distracted driving contributes to accidents. Accidents cause injury or death. Injuries eat up healthcare dollars that could be used for other healthcare issues! I would much rather have my healthcare tax dollars go to treating people who are suffering from cancer, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease or any of a number of other things, instead of being used to treat injuries that should be preventable!
You of all people should be applauding any and all efforts made by government to engage the public. You don’t seem to have any issues with our new left-leaning City Municipal Government reaching out to the tax-paying public. why would you have an issue with our right-wing Provincial Government doing the same?
Like is said, going, going, so to be completely gone! I am of course, referring to any shred of credibility that you have, if you had any in the first place!
What a simpleton approach this Christy Clark government has towards reducing distracted driving, increase fines, that’s it???
What about targeting the demographic that is most likely to be involved in distracted driving accidents? What about “spending” money on prevention and awareness ads that target that demographic the 18 to 20 year olds? To reduce distracted driving accidents this government needs to employ multiple strategies not just increase fines. Oh and good luck getting fine revenue from a bunch of 18 to 20 year old’s.
The same applies to reducing man made fires!!! What a simpleton government, not surprising when we have a grade twelve er running it.
A grade 12 who outsmarted highly educated opponents. What does that say for higher education.
Can’t target a demographic. Profiling is unconstitutional. Fact is, without enforcement its pointless anyway. Also, fines should be based on net income, that’ll get people’s attention. Better deterrent is loss of the offending device. If you have open liquor in a car they make you dump it out. Take the phone for a couple of weeks if you want to match the punishment with the offense.
Wow, one of the most uniformed comment I have see in quite a while. ski51 states;
“Can’t target a demographic. Profiling is unconstitutional.” Are you serious?
What about the campaigns at high schools every year, where the RCMP bring smashed up cars onto the school grounds to show grade 12 students who are graduating just how dangerous drinking and driving is? Not only to target grade 12 students specifically, but they do so in a well timed manner, just before high school graduation ceremonies. The whole campaign is to get those kids to stop drinking and driving to and from their graduation parties. Sheese … unconstitutional??? Good grief ski51.
Perhaps the uninformed Christy Clark government were voted in by an uniformed voting public, I know most of them now regret how they voted. Only the willfully ignorant would still support them, which one are you ski51?
Sopic, you just don’t seem to understand what Ski is saying, but everyone to their own interpretation, any Psychologists on here that can help some of these poor souls out?
Since Distracted driving is causing deaths and serious injury right behind impaired driving, when I did the survey, I suggested 1200 for a first offence, (last time I was in a courtroon the going rate for first impaired offences was around 1500), and DL prohib. for 6 months.
Unfortunately, the only thing that’s gonna wake kids up is a walk and talk through a morgue, a little gruesome for the little angels, but man, does it ever get their attention. Take impaired and cell phone folks on the same walk, perhaps it will help. Good to see the Liberals asking the public for input, the NDP would never allow us uninformed folk a vote. Just to vote them out.
I’ll be more clear Can’t profile to target for enforcement Can’t pull a 20 year old over just because they’re young. Can’t search every Arab male because he’s Arab.
Again, there needs to be a more intelligent multi-pronged approach to reducing the numbers of distracted driver accidents, the simplistic rightie approach of punish, punish, punish, has not worked, and never will.
Sophie, Sophie, Sophie! Thank goodness that most of us aren’t as smart as you think that you are!
Funny how a bunch of dummies like us are so much smarter than you!
You guys are funny did you read what was stated or just commenting because you think you need too… Sophie is talking about education. Funny you can’t see that. It’s like the DARE program…. Or maybe some of you consider that PROFILING also?
Sophic gets profiled on here all the time. No matter what Sophic writes, the profilers come out and go for the name without even reading the content. Sophic makes it so easy for them.
An accurate comment for the most part gopg2015, however the last sentence in your comment is a bit off.
Rather it should read that Sophic Sage is a near constant source of frustration and irritation for them, the majority of her politically left leaning comments usually contain links to credible sources of facts or truths that support her position or assertions. There are some on this site who cannot, or are unable to, debate with Sophic using her methods, so they resort to personal attacks.
It exacerbates the situation when Sophic Sage openly states; “This is an election year, and from now until October 19th it will be open season on the Harper Government”. Obviously some, who are ardent supporters of the Harper Conservatives, view this as a direct challenge to them and their goose stepping, fascist, right wing political views. This makes for an entertaining and, as unlisted states; “funny” read in the comments section of this news blog.
Kudos to the 250news moderator for allowing such dissenting views to be posted here, with very little censorship I might add. I have commented on other news sites where a majority of my anti-Harper comments are censored, IMO those on-line news sites have already been “Harperized”.
I enjoy this news blog site, I think I will stick around for a while, because I feel so welcomed here. :-)
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