Based on a two-hour sliver of time, on one road, last Thursday (Sept. 29) as part of Operation Hang Up, Delta drivers for the most part, were driving undistracted.
Delta Police, along with Delta Cell Watch volunteers set up watch on Ladner Trunk Road near 64th Street, in Ladner from 10 a.m. to noon, looking for distracted driving.
Karon Trenaman, with ICBC, said that apart from a suspected impaired driver caught in the process, and a handful of warning tickets, most motorists were fully engaged with the process of driving.
She noted that no westbound drivers received tickets, but a handful of warning tickets were given to eastbound drivers at a different location along Ladner Trunk Road.
Operation Hang Up is part of the twice yearly campaign by police and ICBC against distracted driving.
“With the motorists going westbound … what we did observe, which is really great to see actually, was all the motorists coming by were looking fairly alert. We didn’t see a lot of people reaching for their phone obviously,” said Trenaman. “Instead, motorists passing by were alert and cautious as they passed by.”
A handful, five or six, eastbound motorists received warning tickets along a different part of Hwy. 10, while police also caught a suspected drunk driver.
Trenaman said that for the last 10 years, distracted driving remains the second-leading cause of fatal motor vehicle crashes in B.C., while speeding is the leading cause of deadly collisions.
Impaired driving is the third-leading cause of death on B.C. roads, but distracted driving is the number one cause of injury accidents, according to Surrey RCMP.
Last year, 76 people died in distracted driving collisions, said ICBC.
The penalty for distracted driving is $368 and four driving licence demerit points.
Trenaman pointed out that people are still touching and holding their phones despite Bluetooth now allowing touchless access on dashboard screens.
“Despite all this better technology, we’re still seeing in a number of communities, this prolific use of hand-held cellphones,” Trenaman said. “Technology has come a long way in the last 10 years but tragically, a number of motorists haven’t changed their attitudes. They’re persisting in dangerous behaviour.”
Motorists are five times more likely to crash while using a hand-held phone, said ICBC.
Using hands-free devices in the car that can be operated with one touch or voice commands is OK.
“If you have a new vehicle, there’s no reason you should be using a phone in your hand,” said Karen Klein, with ICBC Road Safety, at the Operation Hang Up location on 56th Avenue in Surrey.
Delta, Surrey and Langley police all did an enforcement blitz on Thursday looking for distracted drivers.
She suggested if people don’t have Bluetooth, to put the phone in the glove box, turn it off or put it in the trunk of your car, "if they’re finding themselves struggling with their willpower.”
