BC Distracted driving pilot project

[Fancy]

If i were not the sole occupant in my vehicle most of the time, i could easily get a passenger take a pic of at least a dozen people texting while traffic is crawling or stopped at traffic lights.

If you see someone acting dangerously you are allowed to pull over and use your cell phone.

[Jflem1983]

*removed*

[jimmy4321]

Majority of these times i witness this is when im crawling thru traffic or at least buried in it, but ya there are probably some missed opportunities for me to do so.
Though if there`s anyone out there who drives frequently and doesn`t see this , probably has their head up their *bleep* or are distracted themselves.

[Fancy]

Though if there`s anyone out there who drives frequently and doesn`t see this , probably has their head up their *bleep* or are distracted themselves.

What makes you think no one else is seeing this?

[jimmy4321]

Where did i suggest others don't ?
I got ZERO at fault crashes in 35+yrs of driving and i drive far more than most, i got my own defensive driving to deal with Lol.
Maybe Pedestrians should be taking note of these idiots.

[dle]

Cell phones are the hot topic now but it don`t matter if your trying to eat a Whopper, cracking open a bag of Pistachios, balancing an open coffee, swatting a bee, fishing for a CD etc.
This is all about using POOR judgement and there is NO number of driver refresher courses, no fine high enough that will change things.

Like said earlier, people just need to get cought, and not for stupid like touching a cell phone but for actually trying to use it and for all the other stupid stuff. At this time that`s NOT hard to do, I see people texting ALL THE TIME, and i`m not exaggerating .

I remember there was a time when cops were all over the new seat belt laws and guess what, it paid off.

I have to admit I'll be guilty as hell if a bee gets in my car - talk about distracted driving - trying to maintain control and get pulled over as fast as I can without causing an accident is paramount!

There is another distracted driving issue I see so much of and that is driving with the dog/cat/ferret on your lap, neck, dashboard, or in front of you hanging out the driver's window! I mean seriously???? How stupid are some people?

[CapitalB]

There is another distracted driving issue I see so much of and that is driving with the dog/cat/ferret on your lap, neck, dashboard, or in front of you hanging out the driver's window! I mean seriously???? How stupid are some people?

Right!? Why on earth would driving with a creature in your lap be safe? I'm paranoid about just checking the time on my phone while driving yet I regularly see some doofus making baby faces at their dog while driving past a cop.

[Jhunter199]

Personally, I would like to see distractive driving treated the same way as driving under the influence. If caught they should have their vehicle impounded, pay a fine, and have to attend the 3 hour course to educate them to the risks they are taking.
It really is getting more and more out of control.

[CapitalB]

Personally, I would like to see distractive driving treated the same way as driving under the influence. If caught they should have their vehicle impounded, pay a fine, and have to attend the 3 hour course to educate them to the risks they are taking.
It really is getting more and more out of control.

Its pretty much the same thing, just make a blanket law targeting anyone that is doing anything other than driving.

[dle]

Personally, I would like to see distractive driving treated the same way as driving under the influence. If caught they should have their vehicle impounded, pay a fine, and have to attend the 3 hour course to educate them to the risks they are taking.
It really is getting more and more out of control.

Its pretty much the same thing, just make a blanket law targeting anyone that is doing anything other than driving.

Only one thing wrong with this suggestion is that we would have to have the cops out there actually making real efforts towards enforcement ....we don't seem to have very many traffic enforcement cops - we need more of them. They catch lots of people when they do a "blitz" but those blitzes are few and far between, and in between times it doesn't seem like any enforcement goes on. People who talk/text on their cells KNOW the likelihood of getting caught is slim to none, and slim just left the building so I don't really see anything getting better on this front anytime soon. Telling people it's against the law just makes them laugh....

[Jhunter199]

There was an article floating around how the VPD handed out almost 2000 Distracted driving tickets in the month of September. That seems pretty high to me and a lot more than any DUI's handed out for a month...
Yes I will fully agree we need more police presence, we have a ton of escalating issues in not just the Okanagan but across the country. There needs to be a turning point when things begin to actually sink into society and people begin to be accountable for the choices they make.

[dle]

There was an article floating around how the VPD handed out almost 2000 Distracted driving tickets in the month of September. That seems pretty high to me and a lot more than any DUI's handed out for a month...
Yes I will fully agree we need more police presence, we have a ton of escalating issues in not just the Okanagan but across the country. There needs to be a turning point when things begin to actually sink into society and people begin to be accountable for the choices they make.

Agreed! Without the enforcement, some people get it into their heads that it's obviously not that big of a deal otherwise the cops would be out in full force showing people just how big a deal it really is.

[Chyren]

On one hand we have articles stating more cops are being hired and there's a backlash that it costs too much.

Then we have threads like this saying there are not enough cops.

Cops are not the answer and most cops would probably agree. The point of this project is clearly education. If you show someone the problems with distracted driving first hand they may change. MAY. They also may tell a friend about what they have learned.

Yes it is easy to become jaded and feel most will continue to do the same things driving but in reality if you change the public's perception then maybe you will see numbers go down.

Enforcement won't change things no matter how much cops do it. People still drive without seatbelts for goodness sakes.

You can't legislate stupidity out of people.

Also another point is that once a person gets a break from doing a safe driving course over a ticket, and then re-offends, would be a great thing to bring up in court eh? Imagine the embarrassment.

Simple solution: Don't drive distracted. Its just that easy.