Distracted driving crackdown a joint effort involving police, insurance, community

Distracted driving causes more fatal collisions on average in Alberta than anywhere else in Canada – a big reason why getting stopped and ticketed by police can have a massive impact on a driver's insurance.

Police in Edmonton are cracking down on distracted driving now more than ever before.

"I think some people are getting the message," Sgt. Kerry Bates of the Edmonton Police Service's traffic safety unit told CTV News Edmonton on Monday. "I equate it back to when seat belts were legislated. It took a long time for people to eventually buy into it."

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Now, the push is on to get drivers to put down cellphones while behind the wheel to save lives.

From the most recent compiled statistics, Alberta has seen distracted driving as the cause of more than 25 per cent of fatal crashes in the province, the highest rate in the country.

Like police, the insurance industry is cracking down as well.

Drivers can expect their insurance renewal to jump by 25 per cent or more with just one ticket for distracted driving.

If they get a second, their insurance could skyrocket.

"Distracted driving falls into that major or serious conviction (category)," Rob de Pruis, the Insurance Bureau of Canada's national director of consumer and industry relations, told CTV News Edmonton on Monday.

"We can even see a 100 per cent increase if you have a couple serious traffic convictions or these major traffic convictions ... so the rate that you're paying could be doubled if you're getting these major traffic convictions."

De Pruis said insurers could even drop clients with a history of dangerous driving tickets on their record or discontinue coverage for personal vehicle collision damage.

That becomes a real problem if you lease or make payments on a car.

"That optional coverage may not be offered to you," de Pruis said.

"This could be a requirement if you have a vehicle loan or you are financing a vehicle, you might be required to have that optional coverage."

As for young people and distracted driving, statistics from the Alberta Motor Association show 94 per cent are aware of the dangers of texting while behind the wheel. Still, 35 per cent admit to doing it.

The spot checks, the ticketing, insurance hikes and teaching safety at an early age are all meant to change mindsets about distracted driving.

"If your phone buzzes or beeps, you just grab it right away – you can't wait until you get to your destination or pull off to the side of the road," said Bates, describing peoples' habits. "You think, 'I can get away with it just once,' and that's when things go sideways in a lot of cases."

Straightforward advice to keep your eyes on the road and off your device.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's David Ewasuk