One of the vehicles utilized by RCMP to spot distracted drivers in the Central Okanagan.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/RCMP
March 21, 2018 - 5:00 PM
KELOWNA – RCMP in the Central Okanagan are using some creative new ways to catch distracted drivers.
March is Distracted Driving Awareness month, and the Kelowna RCMP and Central Okanagan Traffic Services have joined forces to target distracted drivers.
Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey says in a media release the two agencies have so far issued nearly 300 tickets this month to drivers caught using electronic devices.
“Our traffic enforcement officers have even taken to the busy streets of Kelowna in plainclothes as spotters, using unsuspecting vehicles to pull along side other motorists,” he says in the release. “A uniformed enforcement officer, staged in the area, would then be called in to conduct the traffic stop with that motorist.”
O’Donaghey says police want the public to remain focused on their surroundings at all times, especially when stopped in traffic, and wonder whether or not the man or woman in the vehicle beside them could be a traffic cop searching for distracted drivers.
He says using an electronic device while driving can cost a driver $368 and four driver penalty points.
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