Distracted driving enforcement

Details

Published on Thursday, March 26, 2015

By Bruce Klassen 

Rivers Chief of Police

Rivers Police Service has partnered with Manitoba Public Insurance and other police agencies throughout the province to conduct an enforcement program targeting  distracted driving and other high risk driving behaviours. The enforcement program will run throughout April when  there will be a ZERO tolerance for using a cell phone or other hand-operated electronic device while driving a vehicle. Persons found guilty will be subject to a $203.80 fine, plus demerits on their licence. 

Other high-risk driving behaviour includes: failure to wear a seat belt, speeding, imprudent driving and disobeying traffic control devices (not stopping at stop signs).

The most important thing to think about when driving is driving! Each year, on average, 25 people are killed in Manitoba collisions linked to distracted driving. Another 800 people are injured on Manitoba roads due to distracted driving. You are four times more likely to be in a crash if you talk on your phone while driving and you are 23 times more likely to be in a crash if you text and drive.