Leave your phone alone. Richmond RCMP launch fall distracted driving campaign

Richmond

2023-09-09 10:20 PDT

This fall, Richmond RCMP will be partnering with ICBC to conduct proactive education and enforcement aimed at distracted driving.

Unfortunately, there still are people out there who continue to put other road users at risk by refusing to leave their phone alone, says Corporal Adriana O’Malley, One stop that still makes me shake my head, is from last December. An officer from our Road Safety Unit stopped a man who was watching World Cup highlights while driving. The man was so focused on his phone that our officer was even able to snap a photo of it, without being noticed.

View larger image: Photo of driver watching World Cup on cell phone

Province wide, distracted driving is a factor in nearly 40% of police-reported car crash injuries and contributes to over 6,500 police-reported injuries and 77 deaths in BC each year.

Richmond RCMP encourages all drivers to familiarize themselves with the laws for distracted driving. These include:

• Not using your cellphone at a red light;
• Keeping your hands free. Hands-free means a Bluetooth, wired headset or speakerphone that can be operated with one touch or voice commands.

Failing to adhere to these rules could cost you $ 368.00 and four driver penalty points.

For more information on distracted driving visit icbc.com.

Released by:

Email: richmond_media@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Website: richmond.rcmp.ca

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