Distracted driving

I am all for a larger fine, but I still don’t think that will fix the problem.

A $500 fine will likely stop the person for a couple months after they have to pay the fine, if they pay it, or they may just wait until their insurance renews and forget about it.

I drive the highway to Vernon and back almost every day and let me tell you how many times I’ve seen people texting and driving, drifting across the lanes, drifting far out of the lane into the shoulder where they almost go in the ditch. Do they stop texting? No. They keep texting the whole way.

I was irate yesterday. I drove home from Vernon and from about the landfill in Vernon to the airport, I followed a White F350 truck with a construction light on the roof and watched him swerve the entire way. I pulled up beside him 3 times, honked and waved my hands. He did not even take his eyes off his cell phone. I am not exaggerating even in the slightest. Literally, he texted and swerved the entire way!

I phoned non-emergency, gave his license plate number and took a picture of him. I think we should all start doing this.

Had there been someone in the bicycle shoulder lane I guarantee they would not be talking today. The chances of him hitting someone were so high it was unbelievable. Not to mention he was going about 70 km/h the whole way, with tons of people coming up to his bumper and passing him who seemed quite angry.  

Enough is enough. The police have to do something. I have yet to see a single road check for people on their cellphones. It is very common in Vancouver. Cops dress up as civilians and catch tons of people.

If no one enforces texting and driving then what are the chances people will stop?

Marshall Pederson