If you live in British Columbia and you are in traffic today, you may want to leave your phone alone. The government has imposed new rules today that will see distracted driving fines increase.
New rules roll out today will not only include a heftier hit to the wallet, but a boost in demerit points. First-time offenders are now looking at a fine of $543 dollars as well as four demerit points. For the second offence, you’ll be on the hook for more than $800.
If you get caught a third time, the fine can be as much as $1,600. Major offenders could be slapped with fines of approximately $15,000. Over the past three years, approximately 50,000 distracted driving tickets have been issued annually.
Statistics from 2014 show 66 deaths, and 630 serious injuries, with distracted and inattentive driving as a major contributing factor.
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It would be prudent to note that this is for distracted driving… All versions, not just playing with your phone. A more proactive article suggestion might be to dive into what the law states cause I’m sure that drivers will be protesting that even though they had a hamburger jammed in their face or eyeliner smeared across their eyes, they weren’t distracted because they weren’t playing with their phones.
Sadly I think people who abuse the existing law will pay little attention to the new penalties. Much of our population is so self absorbed and dumbed down they will only be paying attention after either being caught or seriously injuring other people. Get them off the road period.