(NORFOLK COUNTY, ON) – The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Norfolk County OPP Detachment has charged 16 drivers in 2 hours with distracted driving and another driver with failing to stop at a red light after police conducted targeted enforcement leading up to the annual Distracted Driving Campaign.
The OPP is issuing an important reminder that, while texting is among the most dangerous activities to carry out while driving, distracted driving refers to all forms of distracted or inattentive driving, such as talking on the phone, eating and drinking, personal grooming and tending to children in the backseat. Officers will be targeting these and any other forms of distraction they observe as impairing a motorists driving ability.
The OPP recognizes that the only way to stop people from dying in distracted driving related collisions is to raise awareness of how serious the problem is and to have everyone make a firm, lifelong commitment to helping the police and safety partners eliminate it altogether.
Everyone, from the victims’ families and friends to the police officers who attend these horrific collision scenes and have to notify next-of-kin, knows the emotional impact of one life lost to this senseless driving behavior trickles down to so many people who, sadly, through experience, know how badly this behaviour needs to stop.
“Drivers need to remember that the real danger to the motoring public lies in the distraction, not the device. As the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) gets ready to conduct public education and targeted enforcement for its annual Distracted Driving Campaign from March 14 – 20, 2015, it has already reported 12 distracted driving-related deaths so far this year,” comments Constable Ed Sanchuk, Norfolk County OPP.
The OPP is reminding motorists that the current distracted driving fine is $280 (this includes the $225 fine plus a $50 victim fine surcharge and $5 court cost).