550.00 distracted driving.

[speedybeedy]

So I just read the latest DRIVERS DONT GET THE POINT article on castanet, people driving while talking on the phone.
This fine is section 214.1 of the criminal code.An infraction of this will cost you 368.00 + 4 points on your license which is another 175.00.

They claim that 75 people die each year due to distracted drivers.

The issue I have with this rule is that not everyone is familiar and up to date with the criminal code, which states that your not allowed to have your phone in your hand, you are not even allowed to touch it while in a motor vehicle, even if the phone is turned off, even if the phone isnt activated as you could be using it to bluetooth music or for a GPS device.

Most people due not study the criminal code and are not aware of how detailed this law is and therefore allot of fines are being handed out to anyone that the RCMP think may have touched there phone or even have it sitting on there lap looking at it.

In the code it states that all emergency type vehicle operators are exempt from this rule, these are the people that are probably distracted the most while driving to an emergency and should be mandatory for them to have a bluetooth device and not be able to use there portable devices.
Government pays for there vehicles so why not have them equipped.

The other issue I am seeing with this new law is they have bumped the fine to 368.00 this year and the points to 4 points so you are one point over the yearly exemption limit and are forced to pay another 175.00.
This is a very heavy fine and in my opinion a cash grab, the reason I say cash grab is because im positive that speeding kills more people each year than distracted driving, a speeding ticket is 196.00 and 3 points, so the points will cost you nothing providing you do not get another points violation that year.

Did you know that running a stop light is 167.00 and 2 points, im sure every time that happens your putting someones life in jeopardy, but we see a driving while using your cell phone more than double that.

Driving with no insurance is 598.00 and 0 points,

Ask yourself if you would rather be surrounded by people talking on there cell phones while driving or people speeding and running red lights with no insurance, of course none of the above is ideal, but I just see this new cell phone fine amount as being way to far out of control and a easy way to take peoples money.

Everyone in the world has a cell phone, not everyone in the world speeds, runs red lights and drives with no insurance.

What a great new tactic for a Corporation ICBC that nets many millions of dollars a year to come up with to keep the money rolling in, not to mention the 5% rate increase they just hit everyone with.

[GordonH]

Simple turn your cellphone ringer off & place it in glove box = no $368 fine & 4 points

Oh... missed calls still show up plus voicemail

Unfortunately many cellphone owners are addicted to that device, those who are need to break that addiction.

[60-YEARS-in-Ktown]

I use mine a lot as a clock.. Not worth it.

[Always Sunny]

So I just read the latest DRIVERS DONT GET THE POINT article on castanet, people driving while talking on the phone.
This fine is section 214.1 of the criminal code.An infraction of this will cost you 368.00 + 4 points on your license which is another 175.00.

They claim that 75 people die each year due to distracted drivers.

The issue I have with this rule is that not everyone is familiar and up to date with the criminal code, which states that your not allowed to have your phone in your hand, you are not even allowed to touch it while in a motor vehicle, even if the phone is turned off, even if the phone isnt activated as you could be using it to bluetooth music or for a GPS device.

Most people due not study the criminal code and are not aware of how detailed this law is and therefore allot of fines are being handed out to anyone that the RCMP think may have touched there phone or even have it sitting on there lap looking at it.

In the code it states that all emergency type vehicle operators are exempt from this rule, these are the people that are probably distracted the most while driving to an emergency and should be mandatory for them to have a bluetooth device and not be able to use there portable devices.
Government pays for there vehicles so why not have them equipped.

The other issue I am seeing with this new law is they have bumped the fine to 368.00 this year and the points to 4 points so you are one point over the yearly exemption limit and are forced to pay another 175.00.
This is a very heavy fine and in my opinion a cash grab, the reason I say cash grab is because im positive that speeding kills more people each year than distracted driving, a speeding ticket is 196.00 and 3 points, so the points will cost you nothing providing you do not get another points violation that year.

Did you know that running a stop light is 167.00 and 2 points, im sure every time that happens your putting someones life in jeopardy, but we see a driving while using your cell phone more than double that.

Driving with no insurance is 598.00 and 0 points,

Ask yourself if you would rather be surrounded by people talking on there cell phones while driving or people speeding and running red lights with no insurance, of course none of the above is ideal, but I just see this new cell phone fine amount as being way to far out of control and a easy way to take peoples money.

Everyone in the world has a cell phone, not everyone in the world speeds, runs red lights and drives with no insurance.

What a great new tactic for a Corporation ICBC that nets many millions of dollars a year to come up with to keep the money rolling in, not to mention the 5% rate increase they just hit everyone with.

75 people die per year, if that isn't insensitive, please get off the road.

Are you not familiar ("new law")? It's been law for quite some time now, please read up on it.

Here's an easy way to keep your money in your pocket. Keep off your phone. "Everyone had a cell phone"...phones are made for vocal communication. Cars are made for transport. If you want to be petty, you'll have more speeding infractions than phone infractions because people speeding is related to driving. "Having a cell phone" is no more relevant to vehicle ownership than drinking and driving. See where I'm going here? Justify it as you will...distracted driving isn't an excuse.

[dodgerdodge]

So I just read the latest DRIVERS DONT GET THE POINT article on castanet, people driving while talking on the phone.
This fine is section 214.1 of the criminal code.An infraction of this will cost you 368.00 + 4 points on your license which is another 175.00.

They claim that 75 people die each year due to distracted drivers.

The issue I have with this rule is that not everyone is familiar and up to date with the criminal code, which states that your not allowed to have your phone in your hand, you are not even allowed to touch it while in a motor vehicle, even if the phone is turned off, even if the phone isnt activated as you could be using it to bluetooth music or for a GPS device.

Most people due not study the criminal code and are not aware of how detailed this law is and therefore allot of fines are being handed out to anyone that the RCMP think may have touched there phone or even have it sitting on there lap looking at it.

In the code it states that all emergency type vehicle operators are exempt from this rule, these are the people that are probably distracted the most while driving to an emergency and should be mandatory for them to have a bluetooth device and not be able to use there portable devices.
Government pays for there vehicles so why not have them equipped.

The other issue I am seeing with this new law is they have bumped the fine to 368.00 this year and the points to 4 points so you are one point over the yearly exemption limit and are forced to pay another 175.00.
This is a very heavy fine and in my opinion a cash grab, the reason I say cash grab is because im positive that speeding kills more people each year than distracted driving, a speeding ticket is 196.00 and 3 points, so the points will cost you nothing providing you do not get another points violation that year.

Did you know that running a stop light is 167.00 and 2 points, im sure every time that happens your putting someones life in jeopardy, but we see a driving while using your cell phone more than double that.

Driving with no insurance is 598.00 and 0 points,

Ask yourself if you would rather be surrounded by people talking on there cell phones while driving or people speeding and running red lights with no insurance, of course none of the above is ideal, but I just see this new cell phone fine amount as being way to far out of control and a easy way to take peoples money.

Everyone in the world has a cell phone, not everyone in the world speeds, runs red lights and drives with no insurance.

What a great new tactic for a Corporation ICBC that nets many millions of dollars a year to come up with to keep the money rolling in, not to mention the 5% rate increase they just hit everyone with.

Distracted driving is never a good thing but i am sure it is not a criminal offence as yet so not sure what you are talking about re criminal code. I get your point on red light runners, it does seem absurd that offences like that are treated as they are when in fact any red light runner poses serious risk of injury or death to other road users.
I think you will find that you can indeed use your phone and even touch it BUT it must be connected to hands free device thats either voice controlled or is one touch answer and phone must be secured somewhere safe on your person or in a holder fixed to car. Balanced on your lap or in one hand is a definite no as is holding it close to your face and talking into it as if its hands free

[Relentless]

Everyone in the world has a cell phone

Well your wrong there...I don't have one!
Also, I think the fines for using a cell while you are driving should be $1000 for the first offence, a one month impound and license suspension, and then triple for the next, and then one year after the third time. Insurance rates double and triple as well for anyone caught, and forget about the points.

Phone addiction is a serious problem not being properly addressed.
Not one single person should die or be injured as the result of using a phone while driving.
I see it all the time, drivers on their phones, not only are distracted, not focused, but also break many other traffic laws at the same time, thus the reason for the impound and license suspension.

[Glacier]

2% of the population admits to texting and driveing. 95% lie about texting and driving. 3% don't have phones.

[Bsuds]

Seems to me the OP doesn't get the point either.

[lightspeed]

It's an epidemic.

It's all over the media, constantly. Should be $1,000 fine and 24 hour suspension so these num-nums get the point. In fact, you could triple or quadruple every fine. It's not a cash grab - it's a driving tax for dumb cretins.

[Bsuds]

Did you know that running a stop light is 167.00 and 2 points, im sure every time that happens your putting someones life in jeopardy, but we see a driving while using your cell phone more than double that.

There is a good chance that idiot running the stop sign is texting as well. They should get both fines thrown at them if they are!

[speedybeedy]

I should have clarified a few things in OP,

I should have mentioned 75 people per year die due to DISTRACTED DRIVING, not cell phone use while driving.

The main point of the post was not to argue if this issue is right or wrong, I think we all know its a well appointed new law that should be addressed, especially being the number of people that use hand held devices in this day and age.

What the OP was meant to address is that, people are allowed to drive around with a cup of coffee, which entails taking your eyes off the road while tilting your head back to have a drink along with one hand on the wheel,

Your allowed to smoke while driving, what does it take to get a cigarette out of a package, up to your mouth, fumble for a lighter and light the cigarette, and smoke it which is hand to mouth ever few seconds.

How about eating a subway sandwich,

The idea of the post is that I think that ICBC has keyed into the fact that 99.9% of people have cell phones and that will be the best and most efficient way to retrieve a massive source of income for the government, hence the fact that they fine it the heaviest.

Love it or hate folks, this is the latest government cash grab on the market, they tax your income, they tax everything you own when you buy it, they tax the land you live on after you have already purchased it, that's not enough for them to enjoy big corporate bonuses and swim in a surplus of cash, they send the RCMP out to follow people around hoping they touch there cell phones instead of monitoring the Fentanyl and drug problems around this town, which would save many more lives than chasing people around to hand out cell phone tickets.
Did you know that 17 people died in the first 2 months of this year from fentanyl OD,

I truly think that the RCMP have much better things to do with our tax dollars than set up a cell phone sting.

I observed a ghost car SUV during lunch hour parked out front of one of the high schools the other day, I had to take a second look as the vehicle looked out of place, until I realized it was a RCMP with his seat kicked back, there is no speed restriction outside of this school, so the only reason I could think he was sitting there was to try and hand out these new cash grab tickets, what a great way to spend a few hours, sitting in your SUV relaxing outside a high school where kids are spending time educating themselves and staying out of trouble when there is people over dosing in city park.

Why do they do this, because the government doesn't make money off helping the people with fentanyl addictions, it cost them money, but they do make money off ticketing people that have a cell phone in their hand.

And they know anyone driving an insured vehicle with a cell phone clearly has a job to pay for an outrageously priced ticket..

Welcome to the new corporate world.

To the .1% poster without the cell phone, [ Dinosaurs need not reply, they disappeared a million years ago, how did you buck the trend and manage to not go extinct ].

[lightspeed]

Fentanyl addicts and OD's aren't likely to kill me.

Distracted drivers are.

Pay your fine, Bubba.

[Bsuds]

I do believe there are many things someone can be charged for as distracted driving. Not just cell phone use. That is just the one they are concentrating on at this point in time.

[mexi cali]

So I just read the latest DRIVERS DONT GET THE POINT article on castanet, people driving while talking on the phone.
This fine is section 214.1 of the criminal code.An infraction of this will cost you 368.00 + 4 points on your license which is another 175.00. Should be double that.

They claim that 75 people die each year due to distracted drivers. Counting bodies in a morgue is more than a claim. It's math. And they know what they were doing when they crashed. It's called investigating.

The issue I have with this rule is that not everyone is familiar and up to date with the criminal code And there is no excuse for being ignorant of the law. And if you are still so dense as to not know in todays day and age that driving and using portable devices is illegal no matter what, maybe you shouldn't be driving?, which states that your not allowed to have your phone in your hand, you are not even allowed to touch it while in a motor vehicle, even if the phone is turned off, even if the phone isnt activated as you could be using it to bluetooth music or for a GPS device. See, you do know!

Most people due (do) not study the criminal code and are not aware of how detailed this law is and therefore allot of fines are being handed out to anyone that the RCMP think may have touched there phone or even have it sitting on there lap looking at it. Yes, that is one of the functions of being a police officer; handing out fines; for breaking the law.

In the code it states that all emergency type vehicle operators are exempt from this rule, these are the people that are probably distracted the most while driving to an emergency and should be mandatory for them to have a bluetooth device and not be able to use there portable devices.[color=#FF0000] On this, I am with you.
[/color]Government pays for there vehicles so why not have them equipped.

The other issue I am seeing with this new law is they have bumped the fine to 368.00 this year and the points to 4 points so you are one point over the yearly exemption limit and are forced to pay another 175.00. Oh well. Don't touch your phone and this doesn't matter.
This is a very heavy fine and in my opinion a cash grab, the reason I say cash grab is because im positive that speeding kills more people each year than distracted driving, You can be all the positive that you want. The police and hospitals and the coroners office will trump your opinion every time a speeding ticket is 196.00 and 3 points, so the points will cost you nothing providing you do not get another points violation that year. So you think there should be a break for breaking the law? It costs too much to speed?

Did you know that running a stop light is 167.00 and 2 points, im sure every time that happens your putting someones life in jeopardy, but we see a driving while using your cell phone more than double that. Again, as it should be because of those pesky statistics.

Driving with no insurance is 598.00 and 0 points, Your point?

Ask yourself if you would rather be surrounded by people talking on there cell phones while driving or people speeding and running red lights with no insurance, of course none of the above is ideal, but I just see this new cell phone fine amount as being way to far out of control and a easy way to take peoples money. I'd rather be surrounded by people who were driving reasonably and paying attention to the road.

Everyone in the world has a cell phone, not everyone in the world speeds, runs red lights and drives with no insurance. I think the people in Ethiopia might disagree with you except they can't phone it in.

What a great new tactic for a Corporation ICBC that nets many millions of dollars a year to come up with to keep the money rolling in, not to mention the 5% rate increase they just hit everyone with.

I don't think we're to far apart here either. I really dislike ICBC.

[spooker]

As a person who used to smoke in the car I was able to get a cigarette out, put it in my mouth, push in the lighter, wait until it popped, and then light the darn cancer stick while never once taking my other hand off the wheel or my eyes off the road ...

Was I distracted? Probably about the same as having a conversation with a passenger in the car with me.

The difference I am trying to describe here is that the majority of "acceptable" behaviours (I use that term loosely because I try to limit all other activities in the car now that I know more) can be handled by touch and does not require someone to take their eyes off the road. Since there isn't the same type of haptic feedback with a cellphone you are required to move your focus from the road and to the screen.

So saying, doing anything besides paying attention to the driving environment is a bad idea. Too many other road users, too fast, too many distracting lights.

I say this as a person who used to brag about being able to read 100 pages in a book (non-audio) while driving by myself along the highway at 100kph when commuting to see my girlfriend on the weekend. I was an idiot, thankfully didn't die or cause any harm to others, and learned better.