Distracted driving violations spike in N.B.
The recent changes to Saskatchewan’s distracting driving laws are coming at a good time for the City of North Battleford, as cases of distracted driving spiked dramatically in the last year.
In a report on the City of North Battleford Municipal Enforcement Presence, Visibility, Public Safety Initiatives, it showed that the city’s Community Safety Officers (CSOs) handled 111 cases of distracted driving in 2016 — a marked increase from only four cases in 2015.
Director of Protective Services and Fire Chief, Albert Headrick, points to less CSOs appointed in the city in 2015, and the recent changes to distracted driving laws as some of the reasons for this hike.
Currently, the city has six employed CSOs, compared to four back in 2015, which Headrick said could sometimes only leave two on patrol at a time.