BC cracks down on distracted driving

BC’s new distracted driving laws go into effect today.

“We’ve upped penalties substantially to $368 plus a point premium because we’ve now upped the penalty points on it to 4 and what we’re trying to do is eliminate the number of people killed and injured on our street because all of those injuries and deaths are 100% preventable,” says Public Safety Minister Mike Morris.

That point premium means first time offenders will face a $543 fine with 4 penalty points on their license.

Get caught a second time within a year and you’ll be paying $888. Further offenses could mean you lose your license for up to a year.

Distracted driving is now a high risk driving offense, equivalent to excessive speed or driving without due care.

Minister of Public Safety Mike Morris says the tougher rules are about saving lives.

“We’re righting 10s of thousands of tickets every year – somewhere around 50,000. We want to have the safest roads in North America by 2020 and I think this will get us pointed in the right direction. Distracted driving, impaired driving and speed are the three main causes of death and injury on the highways that we have today.”

66 people in BC were killed by distracted drivers in 2014 and 630 more were seriously injured.

But what, exactly, is distracted driving?

“Distracted driving is anything that entails an electronic device. So your smartphone, a tablet, fooling around with your screen on your vehicle when you’re driving, even setting your GPS. Distracted driving is anything dealing with electronic devices.”

Repeat offenders will have their driving records automatically reviewed and could face a range of consequences, from being required to attend safe driving programs to driving prohibitions of 3-12 months.

If you’re an L or an N driver, getting caught with an electronic device while driving could mean losing your license for up to 6 months for a first offense.