Cops tell drivers, 'Get your head out of your apps'
By Castlegar Source
RCMP Message to BC Drivers is Simple, Get Your Head Out of Your Apps
Over 4,700 tickets for using an electronic device while driving were issued to drivers across the Province by the RCMP and Integrated Road Safety Units in the month of March. It is clear that distracted driving is an epidemic putting everyone at risk, says Cpl. Ronda Rempel of BC RCMP Traffic Services.
What will it take for BC drivers to get the message? Obviously a $167 dollar fine and 3 points is not a deterrent. What tragedy do you need to experience before you change your behaviour? It’s not too late to do the right thing and simply focus on the road. Be smarter than your phone and don’t let it distract you.
If you think you are better than the person who is driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol, you’re not. Distracted driving is the cause of more serious and fatal collisions than impaired driving. So, you need to remember that when you pick up your phone while driving.
Every year on average across BC, 88 people lose their lives to distracted driving; with the Southern Interior and the Lower Mainland being responsible for 70% of the deaths across the Province.
Cpl. Rempel reminds drivers that every time you get behind the wheel you should do everything in your power to get to your destination safely. Be sober and alert, put on your seatbelt, slow down and #leaveyourphonealone.
BC RCMP Traffic Services would like to thank all of our partners who worked with us in March focusing on distracted driving. Many joint initiatives across the Province included, ICBC, WorkSafeBC, Commercial Vehicle Safety Enforcement (CVSE), RCMP Volunteers and local Safe Community Coordinators.
Although March is over, police across the Province will continue distracted driving enforcement to save lives and make BC roads the safest in Canada.
