OPP targeting distracted drivers next week, launching “put down the phone and leave it alone” initiative

Using your mobile device while driving is illegal in several Canadian provinces. Specifically in Ontario, the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) will be be kickstarting their Spring and targeting distracted drivers in a new crackdown called “put down the phone and leave it alone.” This initiative will start on April 15th and last until April 22nd.

The OPP will be taking “a hard line” on those drivers who use take their eyes of the road. To make the program a “historic success” they will be ticketing people offenders (fine upward of $150), plus have requested the public be involved and remind people to “put down the phone and leave it alone” while driving.

In 2012 the OPP issued about 16,000 distracted driving charges. Don Bell, OPP’s Chief Superintendent, stated “Drivers need to remember that the real danger to the motoring public lies in the distraction, not the device. In 2012, 83 people were killed in motor vehicle collisions within OPP jurisdiction in which distracted driving was a causal factor and that surpassed our impaired driving fatalities in 2012.”

Be careful out there. Now is a good time to purchase a bluetooth headset.

Source: OPP