For some, ignoring a phone call or text message while driving is just too difficult, so police in Saskatchewan are hoping to remind residents to get out of that bad habit.
“It’s a temptation, just like anything else,” Sgt. Andrew Puglia from the Regina Police Service said. “You hear that little ‘blip blip’ or ‘beep beep’ on your cell phone; someone’s trying to get a hold of you. You feel it just can’t wait.”
And when someone is caught, Sgt. Puglia says he often gets an excuse, or an outright denial.
“They’re lost, they had to phone somebody to figure out where they were going,” he said as an example. “Or, they’ve got to make a phone call to let somebody know they’re going to be late for an appointment.
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Using a cell phone while driving is considered distracted driving, and one in four collisions in Saskatchewan is caused by motorists not paying attention.
“It’s still one of those behaviours where people do violate that law, and as a police agency we have to go out there and enforce it,” Sgt. Puglia said.
On November 17 and 18, police officers around the province will be clamping down on cell phones behind the wheel as part of Operation HandsFree.
Cst. Ross Kauk from RPS is known as the “spotter”. He spends the day hidden from sight, locating drivers breaking the law from a far. Then, Kauk reports what he sees to one of the vehicles ready to make the stop.
“A lot of people are using the speaker phone and they’re still holding their phone in front of their face,” Cst. Kauk said. “We want people to understand that it’s still against the law, you have to make sure hands free means hands free.”
It seems, however, many in Saskatchewan are not getting the message about cell phones while driving. Since the legislation came into place almost two years ago, 2,709 tickets have been issued in Saskatoon and around 1,000 in Regina. The tickets come with a $280 fine and a loss of four demerit points under SGI’s Safe Driver Recognition program.
“There’s no reason to use these devices while driving,” Sgt. Puglia said. “Concentrate 100 per cent on your driving. You’re operating a heavy vehicle.”
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