Moncton’s Laurie Chevarie is on a mission to shame distracted drivers who are talking and texting on cell phones.
After she and her family had several close calls with distracted drivers, she started a local online campaign called #honktosavealife.
“You see it every day — you pull up to an intersection and people are on their cell phones, they nose dive into their devices the first chance that they get,” Chevarie said.
“So I thought if people would just honk the horn and make people aware — you realize what you are doing is illegal.”
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She’s asking the public to join her in encouraging drivers to put down their phones while behind the wheel.
According to the statistics provided by the New Brunswick RCMP, distracted driving numbers aren’t going down.
Last year, RCMP issued 645 tickets to distracted drivers in the province. This year, since January alone, 321 people have been charged.
“The law has been in effect for several years and we continue to see people driving talking on their phones,” said Const. Jullie Rogers-Marsh.
Stacey Butler is with the motorcycle group NB Riders, and says the RCMP simply don’t have enough staff to effectively police distracted drivers.
“I have been almost killed on my motorcycle because of somebody on the cell phone,” Butler said.
She says if honking will wake drivers up to the dangers of using their cell phones while driving.
“I am on board with anything that helps people put down their phone when they are driving.”
But is honking really the answer?
While RCMP says it’s not illegal, some people might argue that honking in itself is a distraction.
“Probably, but when I stop at an intersection and I look around if I see six cars and two of those six are on their devices I am going to make some noise,” Chevarie said, admitting that reactions from drivers aren’t always pleasant.
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