Police target distracted drivers in Thornhill, Don Mills

cp24.com
July 29, 2014
By Vidya Kauri

Anyone driving through Don Mills or Thornhill today with a cellphone, lipstick or toast in their hands will face a greater chance of being slapped with a distracting driving charge.

Police are stationed at a parking lot near Don Mills Road and Steeles Avenue looking to catch distracted drivers. Distracted driving is illegal in Ontario and offenders could face a fine of $280 if caught.

“When [officers] spot a person on the cell phone or some other form of distraction, we’ll be asking them to pull them over into this parking lot here and an officer will come and speak to them regarding the observations that they had seen earlier,” Sgt. Jason McIlveen, with the York Regional Police, told CP24 from the scene.

Toronto police launched a distracted driving campaign today in conjunction with York Regional Police and the Canadian Automobile Association.

The campaign, which will last six weeks, is meant to raise awareness about the issue, and serve as a reminder ahead of the August long weekend that road safety is paramount, said Const. Jenniferjit Sidhu with the Toronto Police Service.

Distracted driving causes more serious injuries than speeding or impaired driving, according to Parachute, a national charity organization working to combat preventable injuries. The group says teenagers are at a higher risk of death in motor-vehicle collisions than other age groups.

Driver distraction was a factor in between 15 and 19 per cent of fatal collision involving teen drivers between 1991 and 2010. The organization launched a social media campaign in June to raise awareness of the dangers of distracted driving with the hashtag #PracticeSafeText.

Police and the CAA are encouraging drivers to turn off their mobile devices, secure loose devices, pre-set radio channels and pre-program their GPS before getting into their vehicles.

In March, the fine for distracted driving-related offences increased for the first time to $280 from $155 since the ban on hand-held devices was introduced in October 2009.

The Toronto Police Service has laid almost 75,000 charges related to distracted driving since then.