Provincewide police crack down on distracted driving coming Friday | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Provincewide police crack down on distracted driving coming Friday

According to ICBC distracted driving accidents claim 77 lives every year.
Image Credit: ADOBE STOCK

ICBC is reminding the public distracted driving is responsible for more than one in four fatal crashes on B.C. roads and that’s why this Friday, a heavy police presence will be seen cracking down on drivers who aren’t keeping their eyes on the road.

Crashes reached a record high in 2017 with many of these incidents caused by distracted driving or inattentive driving, according to a news release issued by ICBC. In the southern Interior, 28 people are killed on average each year in distracted driving-related crashes.

“Distracted driving is the number one cause of serious crashes in our province and it continues to be a growing safety concern,” Chief Constable Neil Dubord of the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police Traffic Safety Committee says in the release.

Although cellphone usage gets a lot of attention, distracted driving includes any activity that impacts ones’ ability to focus on the road while in control of a vehicle. Research shows that taking your eyes off the road for as little as two seconds is strongly correlated with crashing, according to the news release.

Enhanced police enforcement will take place across B.C. including a province-wide blitz on Friday. Community volunteers will be setting up cell watch deployments to remind drivers to leave their phones alone when driving.

ICBC encourages drivers to activate Apple’s ‘Do not disturb’ feature while driving or other similar features.

As part of a campaign, ICBC is inviting eligible drivers to participate in a telematics pilot project to determine whether this technology can improve road safety and driving behaviour for inexperienced drivers in B.C.

“Our telematics pilot project will help us better understand the role that technology can play in reducing distraction and preventing crashes for inexperienced drivers,” ICBC vice president of public affairs, Lindsay Matthews, says. “But safer roads start with every driver making a conscious decision to focus on the road and leave their phones alone.”

For more information, tips or statistics go here or to register for the pilot project go here.

Distracted driving in B.C. (ICBC)

Distracted driving in B.C. (infographic) ICBC


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