Check the radio, switch to an iPod. Find an artist, change the song. Punch in a location on a GPS. Drink coffee. Light a cigarette. Talk to a friend. Grab something from the backseat. Pick up the phone, send a text message.
There are so many ways to get distracted in a car these days. Every driver is surrounded by technology and flashing lights that take their attention away from the road.
In Jasper’s two fatal accidents late last month, one driver fell asleep, while the other was believed to be texting.
Cpl. Ryan Gardiner told council on Tuesday this is the recurring theme in collisions these days.
“We all have iPhones. We all have Blackberrys. People’s cars are filled with things that distract them. We’re getting into that era of electronic devices and the more we have, the more tempted people are to look at them.”
Distracted driving is a serious problem. According to the Alberta Motor Association website, it is estimated that 20 to 30 per cent of all collisions are due to some form of driver distraction.
To put that into perspective, AMA gives this estimation: “when these percentages are applied to Alberta’s traffic collisions, this would suggest that distraction is associated with approximately 100 deaths and 5,000 injuries from nearly 40,000 collisions each year.”
That’s 100 deaths a year because people just had to check that bing or whistle or ring, telling them they have a Facebook update, or because they had to change the song or compose a text message.
And it’s not just the distracted drivers that are being killed by these actions. It’s the people who are in the car driving in the opposite direction or in the car ahead or behind the distracted driver.
Although the province has distracted driving laws, Gardiner said they can be tough to enforce. It requires an officer to see through the glare of a windshield and in a split second make a judgement on whether that person’s hands were on the wheel or on an electronic device.
And even if the driver is charged, it’s only a $172 fine—a minor inconvenience for most and not likely enough of a deterrent to stop the behaviour, especially if it’s hard to enforce.
So it seems the province needs to rethink its approach.
The repercussions for drinking and driving, for example, are a lot more severe. The driver would not only get slapped with a fine, they’d also lose their license and their car. That seems like enough to rattle some sense into someone.
Really, any incentive to keep people’s eyes on the road is a step in the right direction.
