(Vancouver Sun) – Lower Mainland drivers aren’t getting the message. Actually, too many of them are.
In July and August of this year, RCMP around the region have handed out more than 2,040 tickets to drivers who won’t put away their cellphones.
That’s up sharply from the 1,200 tickets that were given out in the same time period last year, when the new rules against driving while using electronic devices were fresh in people’s minds.
“Distracted drivers are the number one cause of [traffic] fatalities in the Lower Mainland,” said Superintendent Norm Gaumont, head of the RCMP’s regional traffic services.
Drivers who are paying attention to things other than the road in front of them cause about 40 per cent of deadly accidents.
Distracted drivers cause more fatal accidents than drunk drivers, and using a cellphone is one of most common causes, he said.
“You can’t afford to be looking anywhere else except for in front of you,” Gaumont said. “God forbid that you’re talking or texting and you end up killing somebody.”
