Heftier fines are coming down the turnpike for motorists with multiple distracted driving infractions on their rap sheet.
Monday’s announcement from the province starts with designating distracted driving as a high-risk driving behaviour under the ICBC Driver Risk Premium program. Doing so will mean a driver with two distracted driving tickets in a three-year period will get dinged up to $2,000, an increase of $740 over the existing penalties.
Those fines will be in addition to regular insurance premiums.
There are about 12,000 motorists across the province with multiple distracted-driving offences over a three-year period.
Distracted driving is a factor in more than 25 per cent of all car crash deaths in B.C., killing an average of 78 people each year.
“Once implemented, this change will treat distracted driving as the serious high-risk behaviour that it is; one that is on par with impaired driving and excessive speeding,” Attorney General David Eby said in a news release. “Taking action to improve safety and penalize dangerous behaviours benefits all British Columbians and is another step in the right direction.”
The province will issue direction around the policy shift to ICBC and the B.C. Utilities Commission and the changes will be in effect for convictions beginning March 1, 2018. Once implemented, the new fine scheme will bring in between $3 million to $5 million in additional premiums collected annually.
Drivers with multiple distracted violations in any one year will continue to have their driving record subject to automatic review, which could result in a driving ban ranging between three and 12 months.
“Ultimately, the pressures on our rates all start in one place ― more crashes,” said Mark Blucher, ICBC’s president and CEO, in a news release. “We hope this change will further discourage drivers from engaging in this extremely dangerous behaviour, while also ensuring that high-risk drivers pay more for their insurance, while relieving the pressure on insurance rates for all drivers.”
@JohnKurucz
jkurucz@vancourier.com
