Many B.C. drivers are apparently not deterred by the prospect of a $167 fine if they are caught using a cellphone while driving, so the province鈥檚 police chiefs are asking for the power to take those phones away.
Talk about hitting them where it hurts. It could be nearly fatal for those whose cellphones have graduated from mere conveniences to vital organs.
The B.C. Chiefs of Police Association passed a motion last week seeking changes to provincial laws that would allow them to seize cellphones from distracted drivers for 24 hours.
鈥淭hat means 鈥� we drop your phone into a seizure bag, then you can show up at the police station 24 hours later to pick it up,鈥� explains Jamie Graham, Victoria鈥檚 police chief.
The police would like the authority to seize cars in such cases. Given the attachment some people have to their electronic gadgets, they might prefer giving up their cars.
Phones aren鈥檛 the only distraction. Last week, Victoria police issued a $196 careless-driving ticket to a man eating a sandwich while driving. He was nabbed after people phoned 911 to report a driver weaving all over the road.
That must have been some sandwich. No word on whether it was seized and is now adding undertones of pastrami to the evidence locker.
Jokes aside, using a phone while driving is serious business. The Insurance Corporation of B.C. says distracted driving is the third-highest cause of fatal crashes in the province, accounting for an average of 94 deaths annually. By comparison, deaths attributed to drunk driving average 62 a year, down from about 114 a year before tougher drinking-driving laws were instituted in 2010.
No one can plead ignorance of the law (never an excuse anyway) because the cellphone prohibition was put in place more than two years ago with ample fanfare. Those drivers who didn鈥檛 read about it in the news or see the government ads surely received texts on the matter from their like-minded friends while tooling down the road.
Yet, on a busy Greater Victoria street on any given day, it鈥檚 not difficult to spot people using cellphones while driving. Even assuming that half of those are calling 911 to report the transgressions of the other half, that鈥檚 too many collisions in the making.
The distracted-driving law is specific about the use of electronic devices while driving, but you don鈥檛 have to be on the phone to get a ticket, as last week鈥檚 sandwich-eating driver learned. His ticket was for driving without due care and attention, legislation broad enough to cover fiddling with the stereo, applying makeup, sorting out the kids in the back seat or daydreaming about winning the lottery to the extent that you wander into the oncoming lane.
And the law is necessary. Although most of us take it for granted, driving is a task requiring constant focus. It has been said city driving takes more concentration than flying a passenger jet, an observation likely uttered by someone who hasn鈥檛 flown a jet and is unaware of the skill and focus needed in takeoffs and landings.
Nevertheless, a pilot has a network of air-traffic controllers to keep airplanes from bumping into each other, and can feel secure knowing that other pilots, with notable rare exceptions, are well-trained and committed to safe procedures.
City drivers don鈥檛 have that assurance 鈥� they travel through semi-controlled chaos and must be constantly alert for danger from any direction. Anyone who tries to perform another task while operating a vehicle becomes one of those dangers.
Losing a cellphone for 24 hours would be a small price to pay for safety.
