Driving while doing other things at the same time is dangerous. That's one of the basic things taught in driving school. Yet a 59 year-old Vancouver man managed to violate this 26 times in 36 months, by driving while using his smartphone.
For this serial offense, he has racked up over $ 4,000 dollars in penalty charges (at $ 167 per ticket), his car has been impounded, and he has been prohibited to drive for two months. He will also have to pay for the towing of his car, and the storage fees for it while it is in impoundment for seven days.
In addition, he will have to pay his insurance, Insurance Corporation of B.C., about $ 24,000 for his 69 penalty points, which was accumulated at three penalty points per ticket.
No, this is not an April Fool's Day story. In fact, quite a lot of people can be fools behind the wheel any day of the year.
This Vancouver man was first caught using his smartphone while driving in 2010, and was issued a ticket, and had his license suspended after committing another offense months after that. It seems that he cannot understand the concept behind the rules of road safety, so he just kept using his smartphone while driving. He was also banned from driving after committing another driving-related offense, and then committed another offense by violating that very same ban.
It was not clear, though, if he was actually using his smartphone while driving to look up the penalty points he is racking up while actually doing the unsafe deed, or if he was looking up how much his insurance would have to charge him for penalties for the very deed he was doing to look up that very same fact. Whatever he was using his smartphone for while driving, it was a not a very smart idea.
This case has started people talking about whether the penalties for distracted driving and serial traffic offenses should be much stiffer. The Ontario Provincial Police has made it known that 78 people have died in car crashes related to distracted driving in the year 2013 alone. This is much more than the 57 deaths caused by car crashes related to speed. These numbers show that distracted driving is much for dangerous than speed driving. Distracted driving is an understated killer on the road.
Distracted driving does not simple mean using one's smartphone while driving. It also includes applying makeup while driving, looking through their bags while driving, or engaging in a discussion with someone else in the car and not paying attention to the road while driving.
"There are some drivers who are still not getting the message that distracted drivers are putting everyone's safety at risk," said VPD Inspector Les Yeo. "We will continue to use the tools available under the Motor Vehicle Act, to make sure your loved ones make it home safely."
