According to the latest data from Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), last month set a record for the number of distracted driving tickets issued.
Operation Bus Cop, along with unmarked SUVs, plainclothes officers on sidewalks and also viewing drivers from elevated vantage points, resulted in a record total of 711 distracted driving offences—the highest number ever for a single month “in the history of Traffic Safety Spotlights”.
Operation Bus Cop – photo by Regina Police Service
SGI says all of the methods worked “ridiculously well”, as out of those distracted drivers, 583 cellphone-related tickets were issued. All distracted driving tickets come with a $280 fine and four demerits and the possibility of a week-long vehicle impoundment for a second ticket in a year. But according to SGI, “these record numbers show that some people just aren’t getting the message.”
Data from SGI shows distracted driving is the leading cause of all traffic collisions, with nearly 8,300 recorded in 2016, resulting in 42 deaths and over 1,200 injuries.
For the month of April, police will continue their crack down speeding and aggressive driving. As of May 1, speeding fines are set to increase by $30 and the excess speeding charges will double.
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Touchscreen phones aren’t going anywhere, it will continue to be a problem, even if you subtract 200 merits and issue a $10,000 ticket. People will use their phones while driving, no matter what.
And what the stats also showed but wasn’t disclosed to the media that property and criminal crime in general rose during the ticketing blitz.
“these record numbers show that some people just aren’t getting the message.”… Just send it to them by SMS…
haha
This a generation gap issue. Honestly nobody is going to stop using their phone. It’s a true addiction worst then any drug. This is more of a money grab then anything. Very good income for the cities, they just keep finding sneaky ways to get into your wallet. Do I derseve a ticket. Yes I do but I don’t have one. Will karma get me? I don’t know. Time will see. They should be concentrating on serious issues like human trafficking; guns!; underaged driving; drug circulating around all schools; illegal immigrants; etc. They might as well be raiding every house trying to find an ounce worth of drugs. I bet they will make more money that way.
I’ve been rear ended twice by someone using their phone and not realizing there was a red light, the first time my car was less than two weeks old (less than 1000 km on it). Good thing I wasn’t a pedestrian. This is a serious issue, so I wish they’d just impound the damn car on the first occurrence.