MEDICINE HAT, AB — The Medicine Hat Police Service is coming up with new ways to catch distracted drivers.
The service handed out nearly 1,000 tickets for the offence last year, down 15 per cent from 2015.
But Inspector Joe West said officers are still handing out between two and three distracted driving tickets each day.
“Certainly it’s a concern in the community,” he said. “Anytime you’re out driving you’re likely to encounter somebody who may be on the phone or texting or otherwise distracted.”
Even just sneaking a quick look at a text message can cost you $287 and three demerits if you’re caught.
But catching people while in a cruiser isn’t so easy.
West said drivers tend to behave whenever a cop car is around and that means police have had to find other ways of catching drivers red handed.
“We have used unmarked vehicles, which allow the officers to not be as noticeable and pull up beside somebody and see them texting on their phone and get a look into the vehicle,” West said. Officers also have access to regular vehicles that blend into the traffic flow.
Police with the Regina Service are beginning to ride buses, on the lookout for anyone who’s not looking at the road.
It’s a tactic police here aren’t ruling out.
“The bus would give an officer a view down into the vehicle and have a real good observation point and actually see the distracted driving going on and collect some really good visual evidence on the violation,” he said. “We want to reduce all kinds of collisions and certainly distracted driving is a contributor to many collisions.”
