Texting while driving adding to death toll in N.B., RCMP say

New Brunswick RCMP say motorists continue to text and drive, despite distracted driving being deemed the No. 1 cause of fatal crashes in at least three other provinces, and neurologists are suggesting it's even more dangerous than drinking and driving.

RCMP don't know exactly how many New Brunswickers have died because of driving and texting, but they believe it has played a role in many fatal crashes, said Staff Sgt. James Bates.

"We can say that we've had cases in the province where distracted driving has been a strong contributor to a collision," said Bates.

"But people may have also been drinking, may have also being going too fast. It's hard to put everything together and say. 'Here's the number one, two, three, four cause,'" he said.

Still, dealing with people who drive while texting or talking on a hand-held devices is one of the RCMP's top priorities, said Bates.

"The awareness is out there, the education's been done, so now it's the enforcement piece that kicks in," he said.

$172 fine in N.B., up to $1,000 in Ontario

The RCMP have handed out about 595 tickets for distracted driving in New Brunswick so far this year, said Bates.

That compares to 763 tickets being issued in total last year, he said.

"So, we've given a lot of tickets. Whether the message is passing or not, you know, often times legislators will say, 'You know what, we have to hit people a little bit harder.' So maybe in Ontario that's what they're looking at doing, in Nova Scotia, that's what they're looking at doing."

Police in Nova Scotia, Ontario and Saskatchewan have said distracted driving is now killing more people than drinking and driving.

Earlier this week, Nova Scotia announced the fine for a first-time offence would increase to $233.95, up from $176.45, plus the loss of four demerit points.

Ontario is planning to boost fines to up to $1,000, from the current range of $60 to $500, plus three demerit points, which would make it the toughest province on texting drivers.

In New Brunswick, the penalty is currently a $172 fine and three demerit points.

'Hijacks your brain'

Matt Richtel, author of A Deadly Wandering: A Tale of Tragedy and Redemption in the Age of Attention, contends texting is like a "proverbial tap on the shoulder."

It's difficult for people to ignore a tap on the shoulder when they don't know if it represents an opportunity or a threat, Richtel explained during a recent interview with CBC's The Current.

Similarly, people become habituated to responding to a text message. It's like a "dopamine squirt," he said.

But unlike changing a radio station, or reaching for a cigarette, texting is "an all-encompassing mental experience," said Richtel.

It "in effect hijacks your brain for a prolonged period," he said.

"So this is not a moment of inattention, this is systemic inattention."

Since 2008, every province and territory in Canada — with the exception of Nunavut — has created laws to deal with cellphone use by motorists.