The Saint John Police Force wants to put the brakes on distracted driving with a new awareness campaign.
As part of the campaign, launched Monday, police are now taking a “zero tolerance” approach when it comes to enforcement.
Jim Hennessy, communications manager with the force, said officers are seeing more people driving distracted, and a lot of it has to do with cell phones.
“We just want to drive that message home, no pun intended, that when you’re behind the wheel, you need to concentrate on driving and that is all,” said Hennessy.
Statistics from the Insurance Bureau of Canada show that texting while driving makes a crash 23 times more likely.
According to data from Transport Canada’s National Collision Database, distracted driving contributed to an estimated 21 per cent of fatal collisions and 27 per cent of serious injury collisions in 2016.
Hennessy suggests putting your phone on silent while driving and placing it out of reach, such as in the glove box or the back seat.
“There’s just too many times when people hear their phone buzz or beep and think ‘man I’ve gotta look at that text, I have to check that message’ but you don’t,” he said.
“It takes a minute to send a message, it takes a minute to look at a message, but the repercussions of that decision can last a lifetime.”
Saint John police issued 73 tickets for distracted driving in 2019, according to Hennessy. So far this year, officers have issued 47 tickets.
Police hope the campaign will make more people realize that driving distracted will not help them, their passengers or other drivers on the road.
“The last thing that the Saint John Police Force wants to do is hand out tickets, we just don’t … but we have to get the message across that this is just no longer acceptable,” he said.
The issue of distracted driving has reached a “boiling point,” according to Sgt. Mike McCaig of the Saint John Police Force’s traffic division.
“Officers see it constantly. Drivers with their heads down behind the wheel at red lights all hours of the day. People are being seriously hurt and distracted driving is making the roads extremely dangerous for everyone,” said McCaig.
Aside from serious injuries, McCaig said distracted driving is also causing insurance rates to skyrocket for everyone on the road.
“Safety is always our first and foremost concern when it comes to drivers but if this trend of distracted driving continues, it will soon be unaffordable for many to maintain a vehicle,” he said.
Hennessy said police will use social media to get their message out throughout the week. You will also see messaging on the digital signs outside TD Station and the Irving Oil Refinery.
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