Langley Mounties kicked off the month-long campaign against distracted driving with a blitz on Friday.
Traffic Section officers were out near the corner of 199A Street and 96th Avenue, with one officer in plainclothes working as a spotter near the intersection.
When he saw a driver with a hand-held cellphone, or texting, he called in the information to a cluster of police just around the bend in the road.
Drivers were waved over and, in many cases, ticketed.
“It’s actually disturbing how many people are still on their phones,” said Const. Brett Henderson.
Using cellphones while driving has been illegal in British Columbia since 2010.
Yet the police are still pulling over quite a few drivers using their phones, even texting.
“Even though the fines have increased,” said Henderson.
Distracted driving has actually outstripped drunk driving for the number of deaths it causes each year on B.C. roads, said Leanne Cassap of ICBC.
An average of 78 people are killed every year by crashes linked to distracted driving, said Cassap, second only to speed-related crashes.
Cassap advises drivers to let calls go to voicemail. If they can’t resist the temptation to sue phones while driving, turn it off and put the phone in the trunk of the car.
