Penalties set to increase Feb. 1. (Government of Saskatchewan handout)

By Keaton Brown

Costly Fines

Stiffer penalties hope to curb distracted driving

Jan 30, 2020 | 3:01 PM

Driving while distracted is not only dangerous, but starting Feb. 1 it will also be very costly.

The penalties for distracted driving in the province are going up at the beginning of February, which is distracted driving month for SGI.

Currently, the cost of a distracted driving ticket is $280 plus four demerit points on the driver’s license, with vehicle seizures for repeat offenders.

The new penalties will bring first offences ticket up to $580 as well as the four demerit points. A second offence committed within a year will result in a $1400 ticket, another four demerit points and an immediate seven-day vehicle seizure. A third ticket within a year of the first will be $2100 ticket, four demerit points and another seven-day seizure.

Constable Will Picard with North Battleford Traffic Services said the new penalties should provide a good deterrent to prevent distracted driving.

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“People are often motivated by not getting a ticket. It is another thing to consider if it is worth checking your phone for a first offence ticket of $580. People will think twice about looking at that phone,” he said.

Driver inattention and distraction is responsible for 21 per cent of all collisions in the province and on average it leads to 41 fatalities a year.

Picard said the numbers they have been seeing locally match what is happening in the province as a whole.

“It is certainly a contributing factor. We have seen what SGI is saying with their stats. It’s probably the number one contributing factor in a lot of our collisions that we deal with and a top three factor in fatal collisions,” he said.

Picard noted a lot more people are using their phones and other electronic devices to play music while they are driving and can risk penalty if they are using them while actively driving.

“The definition of distracted driving goes way beyond using cell phones for texting and calling,” he said. “Even holding the device and going through the playlist means you are not paying attention to the road. You are cycling through music and not focusing on the road.”

In a media release, SGI said doing two things at once is normally not such a big deal. People walk and talk, or eat and work all the time. However, driving requires you to do more than two things at once. It involves steering, braking, shifting gears and watching traffic all at the same time.

When you add distractions like eating, personal grooming, talking or texting on cellphones the results can be disastrous. Drivers need to devote their full attention to driving.

“We want to make sure that when you are driving, your focus is on the roadway and not something else.”

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Keaton.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow