Throughout the month of February RCMP across Canada have been focusing on distracted driving, but whether or not the campaign was a success or not depends on your point of view.
Just because the campaign has come to a close doesn’t mean that officers will not target those still using cellphones while driving, Inspector Eric Brewer, the officer in charge of the North District Traffic Services, said.
“Clearly attention was brought back to distracted driving and the inherent dangers involved in this activity while operating a vehicle,” Brewer said in a press release. “It reminded people of this illicit activity … I would suggest overall yes it was successful by doing exactly what it was supposed to, educate the public.”
But while the campaign did bring back focus, there are still members of our population who continue to use cellphones while driving. North District members, who oversee all areas north of 100 Mile House, wrote 501 tickets throughout February. Of those, 62 were issued between Houston and Prince Rupert.
The Lower Mainland District members wrote 3,038 tickets during that same period of time, however when you compare population differences between the two, Brewer would suggest that distracted driving is more common in the northern regions.
“The numbers suggest we have a larger problem, particularly when you consider the areas where there is little or no cell service,” the release states.
On a side note, he mentioned members also noticed a high volume of people not wearing their seat belts. Children’s booster seats must also be properly secured. Across the district, 1,006 violations were issued for seat belt compliance.
“People need to understand that their opportunity to survive a crash and suffer reduced injuries increases significantly if they are property belted,” the release continues.
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