Dastardly distractions
There have always been plenty of distractions for drivers – the radio, lighting cigarettes with those coil lighters and children bouncing around in the backseat easily come to mind – but reading those huge accordion-fold paper maps while behind the wheel was a death defying feat.
How wonderful it is now that, with the right technology, the car does the navigating for us, essentially reading the route aloud as it follows the path set out by the GPS.
If only it were that simple. If only it were true that technology has made us safer but alas, it is the opposite. The omnipresent distractions presented by our smartphones are killing us, or at the very least costing us a lot of money in fines.
The OPP has just wrapped up a distracted driving campaign, laying 2,589 charges against motorists who were not completely focused on driving.
Of those charges, 2,462 were laid against drivers caught using their hand-held devices, and the other 64 were for careless driving offences for driving while engaged in other forms of distraction.
Police say for the fifth year in a row, driver inattention is the deadliest behaviour on OPP-patrolled roads. In 2017 the OPP investigated 83 inattentive driving-related road deaths.
Locally, from March 12-18 Huronia West OPP charged 211 drivers (four drivers were caught more than once during the campaign), with fines amounting to $103,390.
These numbers are pretty high considering only a portion of offenders would be caught during a campaign like this.
So what counts as distracted driving? Just holding a phone or device while driving is against the law. In order to use the phone safely and legally the driver must have it mounted properly and/or use a hands free device. Basically, drivers are not allowed to handle the phone for any reason while driving, not to check maps or play music. The current rules and fines have been in effect since September 2015 but people are still unaware or continue to allow themselves to be sucked in by the constant chirping from these devices, even while on the road.
The expert advice is to turn off the phone before heading out, or pair it to a Bluetooth device.
If not, distracted driving could result in charges between $490 and $1,000, and three demerit points. Worse, someone could get hurt.
Those handy dandy devices are just a constant form of distraction designed to get our attention. They have undoubtedly made our lives much easier in that we have many ways to communicate and Google the answers to inane questions but they are causing problems for law enforcement and other drivers who are at risk.
In order to access maps and music on the phone while driving, the phone can be mounted on the dash but even then drivers must take the time to activate the navigation feature or set up a playlist before pulling out onto the road.
If something else comes up, just pull over.
