Distracted Driving Still Accounts for 25% of Road Fatalities in Canada

As highlighted in a recent article over at The Star, distracted driving remains the leading cause of fatalities and injuries on roads across Canada, despite all the education campaigns and tough financial penalties. Statistics show that distracted driving still accounts for 25% of all road fatalities in the country.

Distracted

Distracted driving, that covers any activity behind the wheel that averts a driver’s attention, including texting without the aid of a hands-free device, scrolling for messages, playing with a CD player, or reading emails, for even a split second can lead to a serious collision or fatality. 

“The economic and social consequence of road crashes in Canada is estimated to be $25 billion per year, including direct and indirect cost, as well as pain and suffering,” according to the Traffic Injury Research Foundation. 

According to the CAA, “checking a text for five seconds means that at 90 km/h you’ve travelled the length of a football field blindfolded.” A recent article in Forbes suggested that phone addiction is actually “a thing.” Forty-seven percent of people polled in a survey admitted they were phone addicts.

What will it take to change this dangerous driving activity?

Drivers who get caught talking on a phone, texting, dialing or emailing using a hand-held device in Canada face fines of up to $1,000 with a three-day licence suspension and three demerit points.

Any driver who continues to indulge in any form of distracted driving, must always remember that the slightest distraction could instantly lead to tragedy and alter lives forever.

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