Distracted driving still a concern in Maritimes

Karim Kpaka has been a driving instructor in Moncton, N.B., since opening King of the Road Driving Academy eight years ago.

He spends most of his time out on the roads and what he sees the most when it comes to distracted driving might not be the first thing one would expect.

“The biggest thing that I’ve found on the road with my students, which I always point it out to them, is our friends and family member that love their animals, they put it right in the driver’s seat and they have one hand on the wheel, one with the dog, petting the dog, while they are driving,” he said.

He says 90 per cent of his students are newcomers to Canada and he makes sure to put a big focus on being defensive and safe drivers both during their instruction in the classroom and behind the wheel.

“We’re not just here to pass the road test, it’s to be a safe driver on the road,” said Kpaka. “You need to be aware of your surroundings and when we see things like that on the road, I usually point it out to them and I also ask my students to look around and see what the other drivers are doing: they’re on their phones, the dog is there.”

In 2021, CAA conducted a poll that showed 47 per cent of Canadians admit they have typed out or used the voice-memo feature to send a message while driving.

That same poll determined Canadians’ number one road safety concern was distracted driving and nowadays a lot of things fall under that category.

“Our cars right now are driving computers,” said CAA Atlantic spokesperson Julia Kent. “It’s not just the cellphone that’s causing these distractions behind the wheel. It can be everything from the in-vehicle technologies like GPS and music or it can be something like eating, applying lipstick, dealing with the child in the backseat or a pet.”

When it comes to penalties, CAA National points out the Maritimes don’t seem to be as strict as other provinces considering there are no licence suspension risks in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick or Prince Edward Island.

Distracted driving fines on the Island range from $500 to $1,200 and five demerit points.

In New Brunswick, drivers are looking at a $280 fine and five demerit points and in Nova Scotia the monetary fine increases for each ticket, starting at $233.95 for the first ticket, paired with four demerit points.

“I think like anything it has to be an all or nothing situation,” said Kent. “It takes a millisecond for a collision to occur, so anything that takes your focus and your eyes off of the road and off of your surroundings when you’re behind the wheel is considered a distraction.”

She noted when it comes to changing any type of driving behaviour, there needs to be a three pronged approach: having the laws in place, enforcing the laws and making the behaviour socially unacceptable.

“CAA would definitely push for more stricter penalties for distracted driving because that just keeps our roads safer,” she said. “If people know that the penalty is high, it is less likely that they’re going to engage in the behaviour that is dangerous.”

CAA also states drivers who are distracted are at a higher risk of collision.

More specifically, distracted drivers are eight-times more likely to be in a crash or near crash event compared to non-distracted drivers.

According to a report done by hellosafe, 12 people died in New Brunswick in 2021 as a result of distracted drivers and 13 people died in Nova Scotia the same year.

A spokesperson said statistics were not available for Prince Edward Island.