Speaking in front of Edmonton’s police commission, chief Rod Knecht was blunt.
“At a busy intersection in the morning I’ll tell you I can write probably four tickets on my way in to work,” Knecht said.
On Thursday, the Edmonton Police Service presented the Third Quarter Report for its Annual Policing Plan. The report revealed distracted driving tickets have been issued at a pace well beyond what the police projected.
So far in 2016, EPS patrol units have handed out 3,763 distracted driving tickets, that’s 71 per cent higher than the service’s projected target.
“The big issue, certainly that is causing the accidents and the problems and the challenges that we’re seeing out there, is the texting,” Knecht said.
READ MORE: Distracted driving deaths outpacing impaired driving deaths
The Traffic Services Division has issued 1,822 distracted driving tickets so far in 2016. That number is slightly below their target, however, the quarterly report indicates that traffic police dealt with a high volume of traffic fatalities early in the year. In the third quarter, the Traffic Division saw a significant increase in the number of tickets handed out.
READ MORE: 24-hour blitz nabs hundreds of distracted drivers on Edmonton streets
“We know we can write tickets until our hands fall off, there’s got to be a public education component,” Knecht said. “People have to understand that they’re putting themselves in jeopardy and they’re putting the travelling public in jeopardy.”
Right now in Alberta, a distracted driving fine is $287 and three demerit points. Alberta law says if 15 demerit points are accumulated within a two-year period, a driver’s licence is automatically suspended for one month.
Knecht said around 250 drivers have lost their licence due to distracted driving tickets so far in 2016.
“People are going to get hurt, people are going to get killed as a consequence of having to get that text message out or receive that text message,” Knecht said, “seems pretty ridiculous to me.”
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