UPDATED: 4 p.m. March 22, 2017
There was education, there was enforcement, and there were results.
ICBC volunteers and police conducted a Distracted Driving Blitz called Operation Hang Up on March 17. The volunteers set up signs on Enterprise Way reminding Kelowna motorists to leave their cell phones alone when driving.
Kelowna RCMP set up enforcement in three locations to ticket those who ignored the message and the law.
In a six-hour period, members of the Kelowna Municipal and Central Okanagan Traffic Services handed out 103 cell phone violation tickets and 31 violation tickets for other offences such as vehicle defects, no insurance and other assorted violations. Thirty-nine warnings were also issued, for various motor vehicle act offences.
香蕉视频直播淭he individuals perceived urgency to use a cell phone while driving will never be an excuse to put their lives, and the lives of others at risk,香蕉视频直播� said Cst. Steve Holmes. 香蕉视频直播淎t crash scene after crash scene, we have seen the tragic results of something that is completely preventable. Drivers have to leave their phones alone.香蕉视频直播�
If you want to avoid hefty fines don香蕉视频直播檛 touch your phone while driving.
Don香蕉视频直播檛 hold it to use the speaker function. Don香蕉视频直播檛 even move it from the seat to the dashboard.
Even the slightest contact, Holmes explained during a Friday press conference highlighting distracted-driving month, could cost you.
香蕉视频直播淧eople need to know that according to the legislation, 香蕉视频直播榰se香蕉视频直播� is simply when a person holds a device in their hands,香蕉视频直播� said Holmes.
香蕉视频直播淲hether they are transferring that device from one point to another or holding it up for a speaker phone, if that device is seen then the offence is complete and the person can be charged.香蕉视频直播�
Another lesser known offence is driving around with two headphones in your ears. One is considered acceptable, while the second is not. All the normal offenses stand, too. No texting, no dialing, no scrolling for music is allowed 香蕉视频直播� it香蕉视频直播檚 not even OK at a stop sign.
These offences come at a heavy cost. Holmes said that as of June 1, 2016 legislation changed to increase the fines from $167 to $368 and added an extra four points to the penalty as well. Repeat offenders really get hammered.
If a person has more than one ticket in a year then fines and the points will accrue and ICBC could introduce sanctions or suspensions. If you drive around with an N or an L on the back of your car, you香蕉视频直播檙e looking at an instant suspension.
Despite the ban and the subsequent heftier fines, Holmes said he hasn香蕉视频直播檛 seen a significant decrease in the number of people he sees driving while using their phones.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 just as prevalent now as it was when the ban went into place seven years ago,香蕉视频直播� he said.
The only difference, explained Holmes, is that people have become a bit shiftier about the way they go about using their devices on the road.
He even had one motorist claim that they weren香蕉视频直播檛 on the phone when police pulled them over. He had actually been talking into his coffee cup.
Needless to say, they didn香蕉视频直播檛 sway the police who believe the stakes are high with distracted driving.
Christine Kirby, local ICBC road safety coordinator, explained that distracted driving is the second only to speed for the number of people it kills on BC roads each year and it香蕉视频直播檚 particularly bad in Kelowna.
Of the 78 deaths attributed to distracted driving across B.C. last year, 32 were in the southern Interior.
She had no specifics on how many people were seriously injured, but there were more than 800 crashes in B.C. last year.
