Canada
B.C. Man Loses License After 26 Distracted Driving Tickets
Distracted Driver Finally Loses License After 26 Tickets
Vancouver, British Columbia – The famous English philosopher John Locke, who’s classic “A Second Treatise on Civil Government” formed the basis of the American Declaration of Independence in 1776, wrote in his treatise that punishments should be sufficiently severe to deter the crime. With that in mind, serious questions have arisen about how strict the distracted driving laws are in this province after it was revealed that a 59-year-old male slaphead racked up $4,300 in distracted driving fines accrued from 26 infractions all in the same year, 2010.
The insolent senior finally had his driving privileges suspended for two months, but that didn’t stop him from taking to the wheel. Both he and his car were hauled away this past March 30 after police pulled him over for driving on a suspended license. Vancouver police Sgt. Randy Fincham says this arrest will serve as his wakeup call to stop distracted driving. However, that is his opinion.
“The driver was suspended for two months by the superintendent of motor vehicles,” Sgt. Randy Fincham said. “And following that, on March 30, he was stopped again in Vancouver. He was ticketed. He was arrested for driving while prohibited under the Motor Vehicle Act and his car was impounded for seven days.”
The fine in British Columbia is currently set at $167 and has not changed much. Ontario and other provinces have greatly increased the fines to $400 in some cases.
However, advocates for stricter measures want distracted driving to carry the same criminal consequence that drunk driving carries. It may seem severe to think that toting a smartphone get the same treatment as driving while sloshed, but the facts speak for themselves.
In 2013, police in the province handed out 48,000 distracted driving tickets.
“People are just not getting it,” Neil Dubord, the chair of the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police, told CTV Vancouver. “We need to understand to put our mobile devices down when we’re driving.”
In Ontario, the number of deaths related to distracted driving exceed that of DUIs and reckless driving. So the smartphone, as useful as it is in daily life, can be misused and become the means of lethal driving.
One kook in San Francisco believes the answer lies in public shaming of distracted drivers much as has been done with deadbeat dads and moms in the past. However, such a puritanical and provincial measure is unlikely to become legislation in Canada.
Source:
Distracted Driver Finally Loses License After 26 Tickets
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/serial-distracted-driver-prompts-call-for-tougher-penalties-1.2594615
Distracted Driver In Vancouver Racks Up Tickets, $30,000 Premium
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/04/01/distracted-driver-vancouver-tickets_n_5070599.html
