Saskatoon police seize vehicle of driver caught using phone at red light
Saskatoon police have charged a driver $1400 for using their phone while stopped at a red light.
“DYK? Using your cell phone while stopped at a red light is still distracted driving,” the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) traffic unit posted on Twitter on Monday.
DYK? Using your cell phone while stopped at a red light is still distracted driving.
— SPS Traffic Unit (@SPSTraffic) February 6, 2023
We know this driver did because it wasn’t their first offence. That means:
💰 $1400 ticket
🚘 7 day vehicle impound pic.twitter.com/PnS9TRnp15
“We know this driver did because it wasn’t their first offence. That means $1400 ticket, seven-day vehicle impound.”
According to the SGI website, it’s illegal to use, hold, view or manipulate a hand-held cell phone while driving.
“You can use a hands-free device if it can be activated with voice commands or one-touch, and is mounted on the dashboard or visor in a cradle. New drivers can’t use hands-free devices at all,” SGI said.
The penalty for using a cell phone while driving changes depending on whether it’s the first time or not.
The first time drivers are caught they can get a $580 ticket and four demerit points. The second time (if it’s within a year of the first offence) drivers face a $1,400 ticket, four demerit points and a seven-day vehicle seizure. The third time drivers are caught using their phone will lead to a $2,100 ticket, four demerit points and a seven-day vehicle seizure.
“Driver inattention and distraction are responsible for 14 per cent of all collisions. On average, it leads to 19 fatalities a year in Saskatchewan (based on an average from 2019 - 2021),” according to SGI.
CAA statistics say that texting while driving is the number one threat to personal safety on the road. About 1.6 million crashes each year are due to mobile phone use while driving, the CAA says.
They also note that 47 per cent of Canadians “admit they have typed out or used the voice-memo feature to send a message while driving.”
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