Teaching the dangers of distracted driving can prove difficult: instructor

Morning North6:05Do you text and drive?

As the OPP start a blitz to catch distracted drivers, we go to the streets to see if attitudes are changing about texting and driving in particular. The CBC's Marina Von Stackelberg spoke with some people in Sudbury to get their thoughts on the matter.

A long-time Sudbury driving instructor says distracted driving is a huge problem, andit can be hard to get the message across to new drivers.

This week, Ontario Provincial Police are cracking down on distracted drivers.

RegFitchett, whohas been with Valley Driver Training for 15 years, said teens are the biggest offenders for texting or talking on a cell phone while driving.

Theyre so connected now, he said.

Older people, our grandparents wouldnt have the cell phone or maybe the know-how perhaps to use a cell phone like we currently have.

Fitchett said he remembers when impaired driving was the biggest problem, but said in the last few years, he has begun teaching the dangers of distracted driving to students in the classroom before they get in the car.

He said its a hard message to get across.

Especially when you have companies that are building cars that make texting easier, he said.

Fitchett said he considers new cars with build-in systems a distraction.

Addiction to electronics

OPP inspector Mark Andrews said the issue has become more prominent in the last few years.

I call it an addiction to electronic devices, he said.

[It] wasnt recognized as much as it is today. Some of the crashes we investigated back then, five [or] ten years ago, we didnt recognize what it was. It was really the causation.

Andrews said seven people died last year in the northeast as a direct result of distracted driving. He said he wants that number to be zero this year.

OPP said the fine for using hand held phones and entertainment devices while driving is $280.

Headds motorists who drive without due care and attention and allow themselves to be distracted by other activities can also be charged with the more serious offence of careless driving under the Highway Traffic Act.

Those fines range from $400 to $2,000 and can result in a licence suspension up to two years or even jail time.