(COLLINGWOOD, ONTARIO) As the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Distracted Driving Campaign is continuing, officers from the Collingwood and The Blue Mountains detachment have charged numerous drivers for using a handheld electronic device while operating a motor vehicle.
In one such case, a local OPP Traffic Unit officer was east bound on Mountain Road near the Tenth Line in an unmarked OPP vehicle when he observed an oncoming SUV veer into his lane, so much so that the officer had to take evasive action to avoid a collision. The officer then turned his vehicle around and was able to catch up with the SUV at the intersection of Mountain Road and Tenth line where it was stopped at a red light.
As the light was still red, the officer was able to walk up to the driver’s door of the SUV and observed the male driver still on his smartphone, looking down at this lap not aware that a uniformed OPP officer was standing next to his vehicle. The officer eventually had to knock on the window of the vehicle to get the attention of the driver who was so startled that he dropped his smartphone.
The officer proceeded to conduct a vehicle stop and, needless to say, charged the 41 year-old driver from Stouffville for using a handheld electronic device while operating a motor vehicle.
The OPP’s Distracted Driving Campaign runs from Saturday, March 8 to Friday, March 14, 2014. During that time, the OPP will be doing its part to eliminate the threat of distracted driving through its own awareness raising efforts and focused enforcement of distracted driving laws throughout the province.