Police across British Columbia (B.C.) are ramping up distracted driving enforcement during March urging drivers to \u201cleave your phone alone when you’re behind the wheel.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than one in every four fatal crashes on B.C. roads involve distracted driving \u2013 claiming 78 lives each year, according to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC).<\/p>\n
As part of the campaign this month community volunteers will be setting up Cell Watch deployments to remind drivers to leave their phones alone. The initiative will also features radio ads, digital advertising and social media.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you get behind the wheel, you are responsible for the care and control of that vehicle and the safety of all those around you \u2013 that means there is no time for distractions like your cellphone, even when stopped in traffic,\u201d said Superintendent Holly Turton, Vice-Chair of the BC Association of Chiefs of Police Traffic Safety Committee.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep your eyes and focus on the road because no distraction is worth the risk of causing preventable serious injuries or deaths.”<\/p>\n
Distracted driving is the second leading contributing factor in traffic fatalities in B.C., behind speeding and ahead of impaired driving, and is the top contributing factor in police-reported injury crashes.<\/p>\n