Distracted driving can land you a $167 ticket in British Columbia, if you’re using an electronic device while driving, which one driver found out the hard way.
According to CTV News, Victoria police discovered a text confession of distracted driving at the wheel when one woman crashed her vehicle into a police car—and immediately texted her friend she was trying to text her just before it happened.
Const. Matt Rutherford said the accident happened Saturday night at a busy intersection northeast of downtown. When police asked to see the phone of the driver, on it was a message history of the whole accident being described to a friend, who responds “Actually? !?!?”:
I just glt into an accident omg
I was trying to txt u
Ran into a cop car
Omggg
The female driver and her child passenger suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to hospital. As for the police officer and police dog inside the vehicle hit by the car, both were uninjured.
Along with the $167 ticket and three demerit points for using an electronic device while driving, the driver’s vehicle suffered damage on the front end. Rutherford says this accident should again be a reminder for drivers to not use their devices while driving, a message police note will continue to be spread throughout the city.
A recent survey by ICBC discovered 1 in 5 drivers in BC admitted to using a phone while driving, with distracted driving now responsible for 28% of all car crash fatalities in the province.
