DOUBLE-DATE STEAK TOP SALAD TONIGHT, OPEN-FACE SANDWICH TOMORROW {page 13}
FUN HOUSE LOHAN SAYS SHE ENJOYED HOUSE ARREST
WINNIPEG
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Wednesday, July 13, 2011 www.metronews.ca News worth sharing.
Drivers still texting: CAA study JAMES TURNER/METRO
Despite the new laws, almost all the respondents to a CAA poll said they regularly see people texting and driving while behind the wheel.
Some want to see $199.98 fine for talking or texting hiked, licence demerits upped The message from Winnipeg’s top traffic cop was loud and clear yesterday, one year after Manitoba banned the use of cellphones while driving. “We’re gonna get you. We’re gonna find you and give you a ticket.” Staff Sgt. Mark Hodgson’s warning, however, also arrived the same day CAA Manitoba released survey results where virtually all 11,000 respondents (99.4 per cent) say they still see people yakking or texting while behind the wheel. CAA said more than half reported seeing cellphone scofflaws breaking the law once a day, and 68 per cent also believe police will not catch and ticket them. Police statistics show since the law went into effect, officers have handed out more than 2,600 cellphone-ban tickets. That translates into more than 200 drivers caught and cited each month since the law took effect. More tickets (1,421) were handed out in the first six months of 2011 than the last six months of 2010 (1,192). Hodgson said enforcement and education have to go hand in hand, and the ultimate goal of police measures is to change people’s perception that it’s OK to talk or text
Top ticketing months Top months for cellphone-ban tickets: October 2010: 382 tickets issued. February 2011: 305 tickets issued. March 2011: 286 tickets issued. May 2011: 281 tickets issued. April 2011: 215 tickets issued.
while driving. “We can’t be everywhere all the time,” Hodgson said. “The goal is to change attitudes. “I don’t think enforcement is the answer to everything.” Despite the survey findings, Hodgson said he doesn’t foresee police stepping up enforcement. “I’m satisfied the officers are out there looking … watching … and I think the numbers bear that out.” Driving a vehicle is a dynamic activity, he said, and people need to maintain focus. “If your eyes aren’t on the road … things change in front of you, and they change very, very quickly,” said Hodgson. Over the year, police also handed out 23 tickets to drivers caught smoking while kids under 16 were in the vehicle. JAMES TURNER