RCMP watch and photograph distracted drivers from a civilian shuttle bus in 2018. They were looking for drivers using cellphones and other distracting devices. (RCMP photo)
Times-Chronicle Staff
South Okanagan Traffic Services (SOTS) based out of Keremeos are donning disguises and using “unconventional” methods to fill out their ticket quotas.
“Distracted drivers can expect to be detected long before they ever see a police car or an officer in uniform,” states an RCMP press release Tuesday.
South Okanagan traffic cops used a variety of disguises, including officers in civilian clothing, with spotters radioing ahead to uniformed enforcement teams. Traffic officers are also incorporating commercial vehicles as elevated platforms to catch offenders.
A disguised officer in the South Okanagan. Photo: RCMP
Prior to curtailing enforcement efforts in March due to COVID-19, traffic cops conducted a distracted driving enforcement blitz across the South Okanagan.
The “blitz” saw officers conducting targeted enforcement efforts in Penticton, Summerland, Princeton, Keremeos, Osoyoos and Oliver. Over 200 tickets were issued for either distracted driving or occupant restraint violations.
“We could just do enforcement but we would be missing an opportunity to prevent these offences from happening in the first place. To that end, we are raising awareness and actually advertising our tactics in the hopes that drivers with an illegal electronic device habit will change their behaviour,” said Sgt. Ryan McLeod, unit commander of SOTS. Penalties aside, we are asking drivers to ask themselves one question: ‘Is that text message or phone call worth my life or the life of someone else?’
According to provincial statistics, distracted driving is responsible for more than one in four fatal crashes in B.C. and claims 76 lives each year.
The use of handheld electronic devices while driving has been banned in B.C. since 2010 and a ticket for distracted driving involves a $368 fine and four penalty points ($252) for a total penalty of $620.
