By Cst. S.L. Shmyr

East Kootenay Traffic Services, the Integrated Road Safety Unit and your local RCMP Detachment are reminding motorists to leave your phone alone and buckle up.

Police Officers across the province of B.C. are in the midst of a month-long distracted driving and occupant restraint campaign.

Distracted driving is responsible for more than one quarter of all car crash fatalities in B.C. Studies show that drivers who are talking on a cellphone lose about 50% of what is going on around them visually and are five times more likely to crash if on their phone.

Wearing a seatbelt and wearing it properly increases drivers and passengers chances of surviving a vehicle crash. At just 55 km/h, a person not wearing a seatbelt in a crash has the same experience as falling from a three-storey building.

The penalty for using a hand-held electronic device while driving is $368 fine and four penalty points. The best way to avoid such a penalty is not to use your phone at all, but if you must take a call, use a hands-free device and keep the conversation short.

Failing to wear a seatbelt or failing to wear it properly carries a fine of $167.

– Cst. S.L. Shmyr is a member of the RCMP’s East Kootenay Traffic Services /IRSU, based out of Cranbrook.

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