One of the province’s worst drivers has finally been banned from getting behind the wheel of a car.
The Richmond woman, in her 40s, who hasn’t been named as no criminal offence has been committed, was caught last month for the 14th time using her cellphone while driving.
The majority of her offences were committed in Richmond and on the 13th occasion, she almost drove into a Richmond Mountie, such was the level of pre-occupation with her phone while driving.
She was caught for the 14th time in Vancouver two weeks ago and there were many questions raised as to why she was still allowed to drive.
The Richmond News has learned that, after a request by the Richmond RCMP to RoadSafetyBC — the provincial government department which oversees driver prohibitions — the woman has now been banned from the road.
It’s believed she was served with the prohibition sometime over the last few days. It’s not known, however, how long the ban is for.
“Unfortunately, I cannot give specific details about that driver, only that they had been convicted for 12 infractions pertaining to distracted driving and that they had almost collided with a Richmond RCMP officer,” said Richmond RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Dennis Hwang.
“As a result of our interaction with the driver, a subsequent interaction with another police agency, and our concern for public safety, we forwarded a detailed report to Road Safety BC. The driver in question is now prohibited from driving in B.C.”
One simple phone call, text message, or checking social media, added Hwang, can lead to a momentary lapse of attention. “That loss of attention can have serious or lifelong repercussions,” he said.
The news of the prolific offender’s ban comes amid startling new figures which reveal that the number of distracted drivers caught in Richmond during the Mountie’s crackdown in March has more than doubled from the same month last year.
In 2015, the number of motorists ticketed in the city after being caught using an electronic device while driving was 148.
Last month, that figure, despite police in the city using more or less similar resources, spiked to 347.
“This is a fairly substantial increase and we are a bit shocked to see so many distracted drivers, as it’s an inherent safety risk for anyone that’s using our roadway,” Hwang said.
“The more focus we have on this, the better as, clearly, this continues to be a huge problem.”
The News questioned RoadSafetyBC last month as to how a driver — such as the woman with 14 distracted driving violations — was still allowed to drive.
A RoadSafetyBC spokesperson pointed to the fact that penalty points — which, when totalled up, could lead to a ban — were only introduced for distracted driving offences in 2014.
Therefore, the Richmond driver, who has been committing the offence since at least 2011, may not have yet reached the threshold for being considered for a prohibition.
An “experienced driver,” according to RoadSafetyBC, will be referred to the Driver Improvement Program (DIP) for a prohibition after accumulating 15-19 penalty points.
The Motor Vehicle Act states that a driver found using a hand-held electronic device while driving “may receive a $167-traffic violation ticket that also carries three penalty points. Offences and infractions that include penalty points can lead to a driving prohibition.”
