-Vintage Canuck- Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Quote Starting on June 1, a first-time distracted driving ticket in B.C. will cost you $543. On Monday, the B.C. Government announced these new penalties, which will be a $368 dollar fine and four demerit points of $175, meaning a total of $543. If you collect more than three points on your driving record in 12 months, ICBC charges you a Driver Penalty Point (DPP) premium. A second distracted driving ticket within 12 months will pay $368, totaling $888 dollars. A third offence would cost a driver more than $3,000. However, that driver may not reach a third offence, as starting June 1, the use of an electronic device will become a high-risk offence. That means, two or more tickets in a 12 month period will mean an automatic review of the person’s driving record and a possible driving prohibition. New drivers will face possible prohibition after the first offence. The B.C. Government says last year, 66 people died as a result of distracted driving. A further 630 people were seriously injured. http://globalnews.ca/news/2688684/harsher-penalties-for-distracted-driving-in-bc-set-to-be-announced/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tre Mac Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Sit at a bustop and count how many cars go by with people looking down on their cel. phones. Seems like its one out of five. I am all for this as long as it doesn't include changing a radio station. I can see somewhere down the road ' The penalty for adjusting your heater is about to go up.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehdee Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 This should nip the problem in the bud for N drivers. One ticket and they will lose their license. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry Goose Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I find it funny yelling at people to get off their phones, then take off in my loud and obnoxious beamer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyLuciano Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 How many people are reading this from your phones while driving? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShakyWalton Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 The problem is they are blatant about it..seems they dont care who sees them on their phones..a guy yesterday at a 4 way stop..cruised through on his phone...what does it take to sink in..kill someone...I guess that is a silly question of course it does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SabreFan1 Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Make the fine as large as you want to, people are still going to do it and do it way too often. Although, significant DWI/DUI penalties and license forfeitures severely reduced the amount of drunk drivers once those laws got teeth. Hopefully the same thing will happen with phones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DIBdaQUIB Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I have no issue with severe penalties for this kind of driving offense. What concerns me is the application of the law by the police. It is strictly the policeman's word versus the driver unless they are video-taping the event. As another poster said, an officer could see someone adjusting their radio or heater and assume they were driving distracted. I know someone who was ticketed for distracted driving while in a parking lot. HE was texting and the vehicle was running so the cop ticketed him. There was really nothing he could do as it was his word only that he wasn't actually driving the vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monty Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJDDawg Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 About time. Should be treated like DUI's with fines, roadside suspensions and potential jail time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuckin_futz Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 21 minutes ago, DIBdaQUIB said: I have no issue with severe penalties for this kind of driving offense. What concerns me is the application of the law by the police. It is strictly the policeman's word versus the driver unless they are video-taping the event. As another poster said, an officer could see someone adjusting their radio or heater and assume they were driving distracted. I know someone who was ticketed for distracted driving while in a parking lot. HE was texting and the vehicle was running so the cop ticketed him. There was really nothing he could do as it was his word only that he wasn't actually driving the vehicle. Your carrier could provide proof if the phone was texting or not at that time. Everything is time stamped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortorella's Rant Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 47 minutes ago, ShakyWalton said: The problem is they are blatant about it..seems they dont care who sees them on their phones..a guy yesterday at a 4 way stop..cruised through on his phone...what does it take to sink in..kill someone...I guess that is a silly question of course it does. Idiot on the highway the other day wasn't even paying attention as he was trying to get off because he was texting away. If my brother, in his big truck, wasn't paying attention he would've drove right up his ass. 24 minutes ago, DIBdaQUIB said: I have no issue with severe penalties for this kind of driving offense. What concerns me is the application of the law by the police. It is strictly the policeman's word versus the driver unless they are video-taping the event. As another poster said, an officer could see someone adjusting their radio or heater and assume they were driving distracted. I know someone who was ticketed for distracted driving while in a parking lot. HE was texting and the vehicle was running so the cop ticketed him. There was really nothing he could do as it was his word only that he wasn't actually driving the vehicle. That's my problem with this too.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Kneel Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I was rear ended by a cellphone guy once..he was tailgating me I could see him on the phone in the rear view as I tried to veer off into the parking lane to avoid him and he still followed right into me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tre Mac Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 37 minutes ago, DIBdaQUIB said: I have no issue with severe penalties for this kind of driving offense. What concerns me is the application of the law by the police. It is strictly the policeman's word versus the driver unless they are video-taping the event. As another poster said, an officer could see someone adjusting their radio or heater and assume they were driving distracted. I know someone who was ticketed for distracted driving while in a parking lot. HE was texting and the vehicle was running so the cop ticketed him. There was really nothing he could do as it was his word only that he wasn't actually driving the vehicle. Like that senior couple that got ticketed and they didn't even own a phone. This was in Winnipeg though, probably the worst cities in Canada for dealing with cops meeting their 'quota' http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/cellphone-ticket-baffles-senior-with-no-phone-1.1154224 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Heffy Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Improve the cameras at intersections so they can clearly see if someone is on a cell phone. Have them take a picture of every car and have an officer randomly check the photographs. Mail out a ticket along with the picture to offenders similar to the old photo radar system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butters Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 On the other hand, I just got a 200$ ticket for briefly looking at my phone at a red light. The light had just changed, I glanced at my messages for literally one second, and put it down. By the time the cop got to my window I was no longer even looking at it. The cop was even somewhat apologetic, but had a quota to fill. Seems a bit much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyLuciano Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 What about when I text through my Bluetooth system built in the car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chon derry Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 just a minute i have to pull over to read this properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heretic Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 1 hour ago, ShakyWalton said: The problem is they are blatant about it..seems they dont care who sees them on their phones..a guy yesterday at a 4 way stop..cruised through on his phone...what does it take to sink in..kill someone...I guess that is a silly question of course it does. According to the article: " 81 people are killed every year in British Columbia because of distracted driving. " As a motorcyclist, I'm all for the increase. Knock on wood, I haven't had a close call since I moved away from Calgary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BI3KSA- Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I'm very much against distracted driving, its horribly irresponsible and people need to show respect to other motorists and pedestrians out on the road. That being said, police are absolutely horrendous at the application of distracted driving fines as it is, adding more to the cost will just make that problem even worse. My mom got a distracted driving ticket for drinking out of her water bottle while driving, because the officer thought it was her phone, and I have many more stories of this happening to friends and colleagues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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