A visiting motorist in Vancouver was fined a total of $736 for two distracted driving incidents in eight minutes.
VANCOUVER – Are these much hyped distracted driving fines really about safety or just a big CASH grab?
A tourist in Vancouver was caught by police driving distracted twice along the same stretch of road in just a matter of minutes.
While police are using him as an example to remind people to put phones and other electronics away while behind the wheel but with all the added distracted elements police can stop you under the new law, many are saying that this is just another tool for police harassment and a big cash grab for the government.
The driver was visiting from the US and was nailed for distracted driving twice in just eight minutes. Both times, he was using an electronic device.
VPD Sergeant Jason Robillard says the man was first pulled over on Granville Street near Broadway.
“When we issued him the ticket, we had educated him about the law… He was visiting here, so we helped him out with directions, things like that. Several blocks later and eight minutes later, he was doing it again.”
“I think it just kind of shows that this is a behavioural problem, probably for all of us. We want to make the roads safer,” he adds.
The fines total $736. The driver was also given eight demerit points.
Robillard hopes this case shows what consequences people will face if they drive distracted and he’s urging people to just pull over when you want to use an electronic device.
