Distracted driving fines doubled in BC

[user 37446]

If you travel into British Columbia and typically use your cell phone in any way, you may want to read this.

Following a trend across Canada, British Columbia (you know, that area above Seattle) has recently doubled their distracted driving fines. (It used to be $167 for a first offense). Distracted driving in BC is considered texting or using a cell phone in any way unless it is with a Bluetooth hands free system.

Down here in Washington state, there is a texting ban but it's weak and drivers routinely avoid the ticket claiming the were "entering an address onto GPS". One driver stated he was "making a stock trade" and avoided the ticket.

Sourced from a Washington news article from 2016, and here's another part:

"Washington’s current law was passed in 2007, when smartphones were less advanced and ubiquitous.
"It banned texting while driving but not surfing the Web, or using GPS or Twitter. The new bill would allow a hands-free mode to make calls or navigate with GPS. Talking on phones without being hands-free is already illegal in Washington. The bill was requested by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.

The State Patrol has supported the bill and said the current law is difficult to enforce because it is hard to determine whether a driver is texting or using other functions on a phone. According to 2013 data from the State Patrol, troopers stopped 2,531 drivers suspected of texting, and gave citations to only 1,216.

Now back to BC:

Here's a portion of the article from July 2017 Vancouver Sun newspaper:

[font=Arial, sans-serif]"The B.C. government is raising penalties for distracted driving next month, with the fine for a ticket more than doubling to $368. More penalty points will also be added, and there will be tougher penalties for repeat offenders.[/font]


[font=Arial, sans-serif]"Some people are still not getting the message," Transportation Minister Todd Stone said in a statement. "Today's announcement ... sends the message loud and clear. We will not tolerate distracted driving on our roads."[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]The current fine in this province for distracted driving is $167, one of the lowest in the country according to the Canadian Automobile Association.[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]Starting June 1, first-time offenders will receive the $368 ticket and $175 for four penalty points on their driving records, for a total of $543.[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]Repeat offenders will pay the same $368, but will receive escalating penalty points for each offence within 12 months:[/font]

• 2nd offence: $368 + $520 in penalty points = $888
  
• 5th offence: $368 + $3760 in penalty points = $4,128
  
• 10th offence: $368 + $14,520 in penalty points = $14,888

[font=Arial, sans-serif]Repeat offenders will also face an automatic licence review, which could result in a driving prohibition of three to 12 months.[/font] [font=Arial, sans-serif]Drivers in the graduated licencing program will have their licences reviewed after a first offence.[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]"It's got to stop, p[/font][font=Arial, sans-serif]eople really need to get the message that texting while driving, it kills people. It's now almost killing as many people as drinking and driving and it's got to stop."[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]Last month, a Richmond woman finally lost her license on her 14th distracted driving charge.[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]British Columbia’s Supreme Court gave distracted driving enforcers a boost in late May with a ruling that emphasizes “the handling of the device” as an infraction. A Vancouver man fought the ticket he received for plugging in his phone at a red light. Justice Miriam Maisonville ruled the citation was legal: “It’s the handling of the device, and the use, not whether the device was capable of transmitting or receiving — that is the issue before the court.”
[img=230x0]http://handsfreeinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/british-columbia-flag.jpg[/img]
Drivers in British Columbia have paid about $26.7 million in distracted driving fines since 2010, a media report said in June. That’s about 160,000 tickets for cell phone use/texting since the provincial law went into effect in 2010, CTV News reported. British Columbia’s take was about $9 million in 2013, almost triple the $3.5 million of 2010."[/font][/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]End of quote[/font]


[font=Arial, sans-serif]So the point is, watch your usage with a hand held device in the Pacific Northwest, be it BC or Washington state. Oh, and a tidy little money grab for the government as well...
[/font]

 

[One Awesome Inch]

Phew! Imagine getting a $15000 ticket? After 10 offences I guess they didn't get the message... or care.

 

[Suanne]

I just got the following email from AAA WA.  Looks like WA State is also getting stricter, starting today ...

...the stricter Distracted Driving law, appropriately called Driving Under the Influence of Electronics, which takes effect on July 23. Quite simply, this law will save lives and reduce injuries. Here is what you need to know:
•Washington's new Distracted Driving law bans the use of any hand-held personal electronic device while driving – even if you are stopped at a signal or stuck in traffic.
•Reporting an emergency and "minimal use," such as pushing a button to activate a mapping application, are still allowed.
•Violators will be fined $136 for a first offense and the fine doubles for subsequent offenses.
•Distracted driving violations are now reportable to insurance companies.
•The new law classifies other dangerous distractions, such as engaging with passengers or grooming, as secondary offenses...

As neighbors, I wonder if WA and BC planned to implement stricter laws together, or if it's coincidence.

 

[user 37446]

Thanks for the report on that. I had searched the WA state law results last night before I posted and didn't see that news. For years (WA had the oldest DD law on the books, 1-1-2007) WA reps have tried to stiffen the law but never could get it passed. Can't quite figure where the opposition was coming from but they must have finally got it through.

So now PNW residents and visitors have to be cautious. Oregon has a no Cellphone use law as well, don't think it is as strict.

Here's copy of the article reporting it from the tNY Daily News:
"The new distracted driving law, referred to as “E-DUI,” goes into effect Sunday in the Evergreen State. Drivers will no longer be able to use a cell phone or any electronic device while driving, even when stopped at a traffic light. The bill was drafted in response to a 32 percent increase in deaths from distracted driving from 2014 to 2015."

The Pacific Northwest state actually banned talking and texting in 2007, according to the Spokane Spokesman-Review, becoming one of the first in the nation to make the act a ticketable offense. However, thanks to all the added capabilities of today’s smartphones, many motorists were able to skirt the law by claiming to use their devices for things other than direct communication—a bogus defense, no doubt, but one that appears to have had traction in court.

To reclaim its spot ahead of the curve, Washington has broadened the definitions of the law, making it explicitly illegal to use an electronic device that requires the use of more than one touch of a finger. This also applies to tablets, laptops, games and any other piece of hand-held electronica.

Another law in Washington prohibits acts such as eating, reading, putting on makeup or doing anything else that isn’t related to driving while behind the wheel of a car but that $90 offense is a secondary offense, meaning if someone is stopped for something else or involved in an accident and a police officer finds out they were doing one of those things, a ticket can be issued. DUI-E, on the other hand, is a primary offense, meaning a cop can pull someone over if they see them fiddling with their phone." End of quote

Someday the last paragraph "secondary offense" may become primary. I've seen enough people reading, eating and doing the makeup thing while driving to really wonder...

 

[TrainChaser]

TWIH: " For years ... WA reps have tried to stiffen the law but never could get it passed. Can't quite figure where the opposition was coming from but they must have finally got it through."

The opposition was from other state reps, who use their phones while driving. Have you ever wondered why there is no law to prevent a criminal from suing their victim if they're injured during the commission of a crime? Guess who, and why.