Recent Westshore texting and driving blitz called a disappointing success

On July 25, the West Shore RCMP set up at the intersection of Peatt and Goldstream to monitor distracted driving. The results were disappointing, said RCMP. 

Despite the presence of warning signage along Veterans Memorial Parkway discouraging texting and driving, the police gave out 30 tickets and 18 warnings for distracted driving, as well as six tickets and three warnings for other driving offences. 

“These particular issues aren’t just simply geographical to one particular area such as the Westshore or Victoria, they cross all boundaries,” said BC Highway Patrol unit commander Sgt. Jereme Leslie. “It’s really important that the message is clear to the public and to all road users because we share the roads with a number of vulnerable road users.”  

A similar collaborative blitz was carried out in Saanich last fall. The numbers there were even worse. Police, along with members of the Capital Regional District Integrated Road Safety Unit recorded 50 distracted driving violations in a three-hour period during that campaign. 

"Drivers would have passed by numerous signs warning them against distracted driving before being pulled over by police,” said West Shore RCMP Const. Sean Van Londersele in a news release about the Langford campaign. "We were disappointed in the high number of tickets we issued for distracted driving. We had hoped the number would have been much less.”

Ironically, drivers may just have been too distracted to see the warning signs. 

The campaign was a collaborative effort between local forces, volunteers from the ICBC Speed Watch program and members of BC Highway Patrol and was telegraphed to the public days in advance before they took their posts at Highway 14 and Goldstream Avenue. 

"This is our attempt to give the public fair warning," calling it a "campaign of awareness,” said Cpl. Nancy Saggar of the West Shore RCMP. They went so far as to let the public know what time they would be on site and, on the date and time (1 to 5pm) they were highly visible in their vests, uniforms and police cars. 

Yet, the texting and other illegal distracted driving infractions went on. 

BC legislation states that drivers may not: 

• send or text message or emails;

• make or receive calls unless on a hands-free device;

• operate a handheld or hands-free cell phone if learner. 

Using a device includes holding a phone or tablet in your hand, talking on it, and listening to audio content through earphones. Every ticket for distracted driving includes a fine of $368 and four driver demerit points. The costs of distracted driving are very personal.

Distracted driving is a factor in 40% of police-reported crashes and contributes to roughly 80 deaths in BC each year, according to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC). In 2019, the Traffic Injury Research Foundation found that distraction-related fatalities had exceeded impaired driving fatalities in several jurisdictions in Canada.

Canadian Automobile Association polling from 2021 revealed that 47% of Canadians admit that they have typed out or used the voice-memo feature to send a message while driving.

Drivers may use an approved mount to use a device that does not obstruct their vision but phones may not be in the passenger seat or on the driver’s lap.  Phone use in a mount must be entirely touchless. In fact, any time a driver looks away from the road while driving is considered distracted driving, according to ICBC whether they are talking to someone in the backseat, applying makeup, eating, or changing the radio station. Talking—with bluetooth headphones is allowed, as long as a driver puts the headset or ear pieces on before they start driving.

In a media release highlighting the upcoming regional implementation of new automated flagger assistance devices (AFAD) around construction zones, Trace Acres, program director for Road Safety at Work said, “Driving carelessly through a roadside work zone can cause a lifetime of consequences for them.”

“Speeding and distracted drivers, and not keeping vehicles a safe distance from workers, puts everyone at serious risk of injury or death.” The AFADs use red and yellow traffic lights and an arm with a fluorescent orange or red flag. It tells drivers approaching work zones when to stop and when it’s safe to proceed. 

It shouldn't take bright coloured flags, lights, cones and officers in fluorescent vests to bring driver attention back to the road. "We have always taken a zero-tolerance approach to distracted driving, and it needs to stop," said Mike Farnworth, minister of public safety and solicitor general.