It was a bad day to be on your cellphone while driving inLangley.
Distracted drivers were being targeted at the intersection of 200 Street and Willowbrook Drive as part of a province-wide distracted driving enforcement event on Monday, Sept. 24.
Members of the Lower Mainland District Integrated Road Safety unit and ICBC were at the Husky gas station along 200 Street near Willowbrook Drive.
Const. Mike Halskov, B.C. RCMP Traffic Services, said distracted driving is becoming one of the leading causes of collisions and fatalities in B.C.
“We want to get the message out to the public to please not use your phone while driving. There’s so many reasons not to, including the lives and safety of your loved ones, friends and other motorists using the road.”
In just 45 minutes, approximately 10 distracted driving tickets were handed out at a cost of $368 each, and four points on a licence.
Halskov suggested drivers put their phone in the glove box, turn it off, or simply ignore it.
With the approach of winter, the danger is only increasing, he said.
“Many of us will be commuting to and from work as it gets dark and the weather conditions change. It’s going to rain more, it could be foggy, we could get snow, temperatures will drop, and there will be black ice. It’s all the more reason to focus on driving,” said Halskov.
ICBC Road Safety community coordinator, Leanne Cassap, said studies have shown that when a driver is using a handheld device, they miss 50 per cent of what’s going on around them.
“As a pedestrian you should be very mindful, because distracted driving is a leading cause of crashes with pedestrians,” said Cassap.
“When you’re on your hand-held phone you’re five times more likely to be in a crash and when you’re texting, you are 23 times more likely to be in a crash.”
Besides ignoring your phone while driving, ICBC suggests putting the phone out of sight, assigning a passenger to make or receive calls, pulling over to use the phone, and turning on a ‘do not disturb’ feature on your device.
Halskov said another form of distracted driving is called ‘driving without due care.’ This could include things like eating, reading or writing behind the wheel that could interfere with driving.
While vehicles were coming to a stop at the red light on 200 Street, police were peering into the vehicles to spot drivers on their phones. Those who were caught were given a tap on the window and directed to pull into the Huskyparking lot to receive a ticket.
The Road Safety Unit said nobody was let off with a warning.
Halskov reported 22 tickets were issued for cellphone use between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Seven other tickets were issued for failure to wear a seatbelt, failure to display an N and driving with no insurance.
