Distracted Driving Law
Sun Media
The new law put into effect basically doubles the distracted driving fine. I hate to be “that person” but I am very happy. Not because the government is getting more of our hard earned dollars, rather because it is punitive. We need to discourage distracted driving in an aggressive manner. This phenomenon is becoming even more prevalent than drunk driving in today’s high tech era.
Just some fun facts to consider about distracted driving according to the OPP website opp.ca;
- Distracted driving is estimated to be responsible for 30-50% of collisions;
- This statistic is likely higher due to under-reporting;
- A police officer in his or her discretion can not only fine you, they can charge you with careless driving. Those fines range from $400-$2000 and a possible license suspension and jail time.
I personally believe that most pedestrian accidents in our firm are a direct result from distracted drivers. Most of my clients say that the driver that hit them was looking down before they hit them. The point is drivers are not looking at the road and people are getting hurt and/or killed. Pedestrian fatalities are growing at an alarming rate. Let’s try something novel doing one thing at a time. Be safe!