RCMP sign, file photo. (Image: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko/LethbridgeNewsNOW

Alberta man receives 13th conviction for distracted driving

Sep 27, 2022 | 2:44 PM

AIRDRIE, AB – An Alberta man has been convicted a baker’s dozen times for distracted driving offences.

Appearing in Airdrie Provincial Court on Tuesday, a 40-year-old man was found guilty of distracted driving.

Because it was the 13th time that such an offence has occurred, the man was called into the courthouse on a mandatory summons where the judge was able to issue a fine greater than the standard $300 ticket.

The driver will have to pay a fine of $2,000 in addition to a $300 victim surcharge.

Distracted driving became illegal in Alberta on Sept. 1, 2011. The man received his first ticket for distracted driving on the same day.

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Since then, he has been convicted a total of 13 times and has paid a total of $7,655.

Alberta RCMP Sgt. Darrin Turnbull told LNN that the organization wanted to bring attention to this case to make Albertans aware of how much these penalties can add up.

According to the RCMP, distracted driving is the primary cause of more than 20 per cent of all collisions and distracted drivers are three times more likely than attentive drivers to be involved in a collision.

Under the Traffic Safety Act, drivers are prohibited from doing any of the following, even while stopped in traffic or at red lights:

• Using hand-held mobile devices
• Texting or emailing
• Using electronic devices such as laptop computers, video games, cameras, video entertainment displays, and portable audio players
• Entering information on GPS units
• Reading printed materials
• Writing, printing, or sketching
• Personal grooming, such as brushing and flossing teeth, putting on makeup, curling hair, clipping nails, or shaving

Over the Labour Day long weekend in 2022, Alberta RCMP issued 74 fines for distracted driving.