Statistically speaking, there are 16 people alive today who quite probably would not have been if B.C. hadn't enacted its distracted driving law two years ago.
Enacted on Feb. 1, 2010, the law carries a fine of $167 for using hand-held cellphones and other electronic devices while driving, and adds three penalty points to the licences of drivers who risk their lives and the lives of others by texting or emailing while they are driving.
Using a handheld cellphone has been shown to be the number one cause of distracted driving, which in turn leads to a significant increase in the likelihood of being involved in a motor vehicle accident.
Evidence shows that talking on a cellphone while driving reduces a driver's field of vision by 50 per cent, and it quadruples the risk of causing a motor vehicle crash. It doesn't take a genius to figure that texting while driving is riskier still.
Between Feb. 1, 2010, and Sept. 30, 2011, police issued 46,008 tickets to drivers using hand-held electronic devices, and another 1,372 tickets were issued for emailing or texting.
And yet, we see still see people regularly flouting the law. In fact, Police issued more than 34 per cent more tickets for distracted driving in 2011 than in the previous year.
New drivers in the Graduated Licensing Program (GLP) are not permitted to use any device at all while driving - including handsfree cellphones.
Considering numerous studies that show hands-free devices involve just as much risk of crashes, injuries, and death as their outlawed (while driving) handheld counterparts, and considering the remarkable success of the current law in reducing deaths, injuries, and property damage, it's time that the GLP ban on all electronic paraphernalia is extended to all drivers.
Clearly, totally banning use of the devices won't stop all drivers from exercising behaviour that is risky to themselves and to others on the road, but the success of the current partial ban speaks for the power that fines and legal consequences can have in saving lives and limbs.
