Two women were issued a $368 distracted driving ticket in Burnaby on Monday for playing Pokémon Go.
The first incident happened around 8 a.m. at 10th Avenue and Sixth Street. With September being distracted driving month, Mounties were in the area doing a blitz.
“The police officer noticed that the driver was looking down, obviously not paying attention to the traffic,” said Cpl. Daniela Panesar. “The 51-year-old (female) driver basically admitted to playing Pokémon Go.”
The second incident happened around 5:30 p.m. at Willingdon and Kingsway. The driver, a 53-year-old woman from North Vancouver, was issued the same ticket for using an electronic device (as well as four demerit points).
Panesar told the NOW it was a bit of a surprise to have two incidents related to the augmented-reality game occur in the same day.
“I think most people thought that Pokémon Go had kind of seen its day and was gone,” she said.
On average, Burnaby RCMP are handing out 30 distracted driving tickets in two hours, Panesar added.
“I think some people are getting the message, but definitely, we still need to educate people about the dangers.”
Distracted driving has become the number 1 killer in the province, according to ICBC, surpassing impaired driving. Using an electronic device behind the wheel results in 78 deaths per year, and drivers are five times more likely to crash. One-quarter of all car crashes in B.C. are due to distracted driving.
