Police release details of their Distracted Driving Campaign in Milton and Halton Hills
During March, officers from Milton and Georgetown set about the task of trying to educate and enforce the Highway Traffic Act in cases where motorists were using their cell phones while driving.
During the month a total of 336 charges were laid and 48 warning tags were issued, for a total of 384 traffic stops where drivers were observed using their cell phone.
Police would like to remind motorists that driving while holding or using a hand-held wireless communication device places all road users at risk and carries a set fine of $490 and 3 demerit points.
Some of the explanations drivers provided to Officers were:
I thought I could use my GPS My phone fell off the mount... I was just holding it I was turning up the volume for my Bluetooth I had it on speaker so I'm good right? I know better but I'm running really late for picking up my son My Mom called and I was worried that I was in trouble for something…..I thought about pulling off somewhere but then I didn't I wasn't doing it for that long My phone is set up in my car but I borrowed my wife's car today and it's not set up on this one I had to check a couple of things and if I pulled over I would have been late for my one ski lesson: by the way is this going to take long?
Sgt. Rudall of the 1 District Response Unit commented, "All of the reasons offered to officers following these traffic stops did not prevent a ticket from being issued, but all of these reasons could have caused the driver to lose focus on their driving which could result in a collision. I'd urge all drivers to recognize the risk they put themselves in when they drive distracted. No officer wants to attend a collision where somebody is seriously hurt or killed because of a decision that could easily have been prevented."
The Halton Regional Police Service remains committed to road safety through prevention, education and enforcement initiatives.
Members of the public are reminded that driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol is a crime in progress and to call 9-1-1 immediately to report a suspected impaired driver
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