Distracted driving to net automatic licence suspension in Manitoba, says infrastructure minister

[RRypien37]

Is this going to apply to the Police who are watching their computer screen more than the road as well?

[Ghostsof1915]

5 hours ago, Warhippy said:

I firmly believe that's what should have happened in BC.

 

Instead of a $2000 fine which is essentially just another revenue stream.  A $2000 fine, 30 day loss of license and immediate impounding of your vehicle.

 

Does it not seem fair?  Too bad.  Driving is a privilege not a right

Problem is then you'll see people driving without their license, a lot of folks seem to forget the privilege part.

[chon derry]

7 hours ago, Alflives said:

I’m curious about what defines distracted driving?  Using a cell phone is a given.  What about putting on make-up?  What about eating?  What about talking to passengers?  What about listening to a game?  What about day-dreaming?

Does the policeman get to arbitrarily and unilaterally decide what constitutes “distracted”?

This is a slippery slope.  

apparently  chasing cats with a scooter ,for consumption isn't on the list  YET , so your good to go alf

[Tortorella's Rant]

5 hours ago, DIBdaQUIB said:

The danger in this new approach is that "distracted driving" is anything the cop says it is and it's his word against yours.  You could be charged for adjusting your radio or changing the heat setting on your HVAC. Because the punishment comes with severe financial penalties (as in taxes) it is too attractive for politicians to push for aggressive enforcement. 

I agree that distracted driving is an issue but without photographic evidence of the incident, this is a blank cheque for the police and their political masters to generate revenue in the name of safety.

Precisely. All they have to do is think you were distracted, they don't even have to prove it. Drifting away from a fact based society more and more where mere accusations weight more than what you can actually show to be true. And then of course if a copper is pissing around with his laptop while on South Fraser Way (seen it more than once), well then suddenly a different set of rules come into effect.

 

 

[DADDYROCK]

So many innocent lives put at risk day after day by stupid people,

yeah you lose your licence.

 

Better than killing someone or yourself.

 

 

 

[Riviera82]

I'm all good with cell phone penalties being sky-high. Throw the book at offenders - with 1 caveat however - solid evidence, concrete proof. As far as I'm concerned a cop's word isn't worth the air they breathed to speak it (in these matters of revenue generation at least) and should not be taken as gospel in a court of law. Until the day that police are replaced by automatons which are programmed to not make mistakes or have any biases then a cop's "word" should always be taken with a grain of salt and considered nothing more than an opinion in court, and definitely not fact.

[riffraff]

18 hours ago, RRypien37 said:

Is this going to apply to the Police who are watching their computer screen more than the road as well?

No

[-DLC-]

My hockey first brain saw a power forward being hooked and, therefore, a little unfocused when I read the title on the home page.

In now seeing that this isn't a hockey related topic, I add that I'm support of tough penalties but feel it's a case on inconsistency and that cops ARE the worst for this.  So the standard has to apply to all if it's really about safety. 

(and my hockey brain conjured up an NHL ref as I posted)

[Dral]

5 minutes ago, debluvscanucks said:

My hockey first brain saw a power forward being hooked and, therefore, a little unfocused when I read the title on the home page.

In now seeing that this isn't a hockey related topic, I add that I'm support of tough penalties but feel it's a case on inconsistency and that cops ARE the worst for this.  So the standard has to apply to all if it's really about safety. 

(and my hockey brain conjured up an NHL ref as I posted)

How many cops have died or have caused the death of people due to distracted driving?

 

They are the worst... so... you must have something other  then "I once pulled up to a red light saw them playing Angry Birds on their lap tops"

[Ghostsof1915]

23 minutes ago, Dral said:

How many cops have died or have caused the death of people due to distracted driving?

 

They are the worst... so... you must have something other  then "I once pulled up to a red light saw them playing Angry Birds on their lap tops"

Feel free if someone breaks into your home, or you hear a domestic disturbance of your neighbours, or someone starts vandalizing your place to yell. "Stop! Or I'll say stop again!"

[Dral]

7 minutes ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

Feel free if someone breaks into your home, or you hear a domestic disturbance of your neighbours, or someone starts vandalizing your place to yell. "Stop! Or I'll say stop again!"

I dunno, I'd rather call 911... and hope that the cops are actually monitoring their computers and get the call as quick as possible so they might possibly arrive in time to help me out...

 

 

either that, or I'll just have to rely on my AR-15 to save me

[Toews]

27 minutes ago, Dral said:

How many cops have died or have caused the death of people due to distracted driving?

Why don't you do the research and find out for yourself.

27 minutes ago, Dral said:

They are the worst... so... you must have something other  then "I once pulled up to a red light saw them playing Angry Birds on their lap tops"

No, I believe she means they are among some of the worst offenders. Guess what... not all of the $&!#heads who drink and drive get into accidents either. Its their favourite argument to use, "I haven't gotten into an accident or been caught by the cops yet so I am clearly good at this". They aren't good, they are just lucky and luck catches up with these idiots eventually.

 

Not to mention the very idea of law enforcement flaunting the laws sends a bad message to the populous. 

[Gurn]

48 minutes ago, Dral said:

How many cops have died or have caused the death of people due to distracted driving?

 

They are the worst... so... you must have something other  then "I once pulled up to a red light saw them playing Angry Birds on their lap tops"

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/police-officers-also-guilty-of-distracted-driving

"The Fort Collins Coloradoan reports in Fort Collins alone, police officers were found at fault in 79 crashes since April 1, 2009. Seven were due to distracted driving, and officers were cited twice. Details of those accidents were not available."

https://globalnews.ca/news/2140443/angry-kelowna-cop-under-investigation/

"

We are waiting to turn left at an intersection with our signal light on and a cop is approaching us in the oncoming lane very slowly. We had enough time to make the turn at the speed he was going, but he had the right of way, of course, so we waited and at the last second he turns left,” Michaelz wrote on Facebook.

“I throw my hands up in the air in the passenger seat of the vehicle and the cop gets mad and pulls a U-turn in the intersection to pull us over.”

In the video, as the officer approaches the vehicle, the female driver asks why she was pulled over.

“Anytime someone is going to go like that to a police officer they are obviously upset about something,” said the officer.

“Go like what?” the driver responds.

“I am doing my job, I am looking for a licence plate and I look down at my screen and I may have lost track of where I was on the road. Fair enough, that is my job as a police officer.”

When Michaelz suggests what the police officer did could be considered distracted driving, the officer responds by threatening to call a traffic officer to do a full vehicle inspection.

“Well we will have a look at your paint job, your rims, make sure they are high enough from the ground.”

 

 

I put this into google "cop guilty of distracted driving"

and got 2,880,000 results.

[Dral]

13 minutes ago, Toews said:

Why don't you do the research and find out for yourself.

No, I believe she means they are among some of the worst offenders. Guess what... not all of the $&!#heads who drink and drive get into accidents either. Its their favourite argument to use, "I haven't gotten into an accident or been caught by the cops yet so I am clearly good at this". They aren't good, they are just lucky and luck catches up with these idiots eventually.

 

Not to mention the very idea of law enforcement flaunting the laws sends a bad message to the populous. 

I didn't make the claim... isn't that how it's supposed to work? the burden of proof is on the person who makes the assertion? Oh no wait... all you have to do to defend any claim is say "do your own research" and "meh, luck will catch up with you"

 

 

13 minutes ago, gurn said:

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/police-officers-also-guilty-of-distracted-driving

"The Fort Collins Coloradoan reports in Fort Collins alone, police officers were found at fault in 79 crashes since April 1, 2009. Seven were due to distracted driving, and officers were cited twice. Details of those accidents were not available."

https://globalnews.ca/news/2140443/angry-kelowna-cop-under-investigation/

"

We are waiting to turn left at an intersection with our signal light on and a cop is approaching us in the oncoming lane very slowly. We had enough time to make the turn at the speed he was going, but he had the right of way, of course, so we waited and at the last second he turns left,” Michaelz wrote on Facebook.

“I throw my hands up in the air in the passenger seat of the vehicle and the cop gets mad and pulls a U-turn in the intersection to pull us over.”

In the video, as the officer approaches the vehicle, the female driver asks why she was pulled over.

“Anytime someone is going to go like that to a police officer they are obviously upset about something,” said the officer.

“Go like what?” the driver responds.

“I am doing my job, I am looking for a licence plate and I look down at my screen and I may have lost track of where I was on the road. Fair enough, that is my job as a police officer.”

When Michaelz suggests what the police officer did could be considered distracted driving, the officer responds by threatening to call a traffic officer to do a full vehicle inspection.

“Well we will have a look at your paint job, your rims, make sure they are high enough from the ground.”

 

 

I put this into google "cop guilty of distracted driving"

and got 2,880,000 results.

So since April 2009, 7 crashes caused by officers were due to distracted driving... less then one every year...

 

oh wait, never mind.... google search results say it was almost 3 million....

 

 

Well then, I supposed you guys are right, cops shouldn't be paying attention to critical information they receive on their computers, that might possibly alert them to a dangerous situation where I might need their help....

 

Again, that's ok, I still have my AR-15 to protect me...

[Toews]

6 minutes ago, Dral said:

I didn't make the claim... isn't that how it's supposed to work? the burden of proof is on the person who makes the assertion? Oh no wait... all you have to do to defend any claim is say "do your own research" and "meh, luck will catch up with you"

Nope it was you that brought up the stats when from the context of the quote the OP was saying that cops are some of the worst abusers of this law which requires no "burden of proof", it is self-evident. @gurn posted one such example.

[Mr.DirtyDangles]

On 3/17/2018 at 11:10 AM, Alflives said:

I’m curious about what defines distracted driving?  Using a cell phone is a given.  What about putting on make-up?  What about eating?  What about talking to passengers?  What about listening to a game?  What about day-dreaming?

Does the policeman get to arbitrarily and unilaterally decide what constitutes “distracted”?

This is a slippery slope.  

How do people even need to be explained distracted  these days Alf ? Those first 3 yeah dont do it while driving. If you want to day dream while driving just cancel your license and walk or take the bus.

 

Honestly society needs to realize cars weigh tons !  One wrong move can mean death.   Drive with eyes on the road and hands on the wheel with the phone on Bluetooth or speaker, how hard can it really be to consider the lives of those around us ?

[Gurn]

47 minutes ago, Dral said:

So since April 2009, 7 crashes caused by officers were due to distracted driving... less then one every year...

In Fort Colllins alone.

 

"Fort Collins alone, police officers were found at fault in 79 crashes since April 1, 2009. Seven were due to distracted driving, and officers were cited twice.

[Mr.DirtyDangles]

On 3/17/2018 at 2:48 PM, DonaldBrashear said:

Sounds fine to me. Under one condition... drinking coffee in your car should also be considered distracted driving. It doesn't matter if you are at a stop light. You cannot drink or eat while in a car. Period.

 

Uh oh, suddenly the polititians don't like it so much? Yes, because they drink coffee but they don't use smartphones as much as the younger generation. Funny how when you take away something they enjoy doing they don't seem too happy anymore.

 

Fair is fair. Eating = distracted driving. Drive-thru's therefore should be banned because as soon as you take food into your car and start eating it you are now a distracted driver.

 

Same thing goes for putting makeup on, or having the volume up on the radio. There should be no radios or music allowed because people are too dumb to listen and drive at the same time.

 

Let's get rid of everything.

Followed a complete retard one day putting on make up on an 80km/h road in Calgary during morning rush hour !?! She caused an accident didnt even realize it ! Called cops on hands free, followed her until police arrived. My eye witness statement was enough to nail her. Lost her license for 5 years actually.

 

 

[Ryan Strome]

1 hour ago, gurn said:

In Fort Colllins alone.

 

"Fort Collins alone, police officers were found at fault in 79 crashes since April 1, 2009. Seven were due to distracted driving, and officers were cited twice.

What Province is Fort Collins in?

 

At least your other article was actually a situation from Canada. The cops response seemed fair enough didn't it?

 

“I am doing my job, I am looking for a licence plate and I look down at my screen and I may have lost track of where I was on the road. Fair enough, that is my job as a police officer.”

 

 

Maybe you anti police people should blame governments they are the people that require police officers to do what they do.

[Gurn]

7 hours ago, Ryan Strome said:

What Province is Fort Collins in?

 

At least your other article was actually a situation from Canada. The cops response seemed fair enough didn't it?

 

“I am doing my job, I am looking for a licence plate and I look down at my screen and I may have lost track of where I was on the road. Fair enough, that is my job as a police officer.”

"may have lost track of where he was on the

 

Maybe you anti police people should blame governments they are the people that require police officers to do what they do.

His response where he admitted he may have lost track of where he was on the road? nice of him to admit to his error, hope he wrote himself a ticket for distracted driving.

 

https://www.cji.edu/site/assets/files/1921/distracteddrivingandthepoliceofficer.pdf

 

"Distracted Driving and the Police Officer
 
Criminal Justice Institute School of Law Enforcement Supervision
 
 
Sgt. Clayton Richardson
 
 

 

Seems cops driving distracted is a big enough issue for the Sgt above to write a 14 page report with an additional 3 pages of references. 

While this thread started about distracted driving laws in a province, those mentioning cops did not specify a geographical location. 

You seem very into the minutia of things recently, hope you are doing well, remember stress kills.