Distracted driving is No. 1 cause of deaths on Ontario roads

Ontario Provincial Police say distracted driving continues to be the No. 1 cause of accidents in the province. People may not think of it in the same category as drunk driving but it’s actually worse.

The Ontario government labels distracted driving as anything that takes your attention away from the road. That includes reading, eating, using your phone and even using your GPS.

The OPP say that in 2016, more fatal accidents were caused by distracted drivers than any other factor. As part of the Ministry of Transportation’s road safety challenge, Kingston: Partners for a Safe Community (KPSC) set up two distracted driving checkpoints Friday.

KPSC says educating people is the key to change.

“A lot of kids follow their parents’ footsteps, so if they see their parents texting they might think it’s OK. They see their parents smoking they might think it’s OK. Trying to educate everyone is the goal, but educating parents first and foremost,” says project coordinator Holly Allan.

The OPP says in 2016 alone, 65 people were killed in accidents caused by inattentive drivers. KPSC adds that because distracted driving isn’t scientifically provable like drinking and driving, those numbers only represent a fraction of the problem.