Whitehorse RCMP see lots of drivers using cellphones
Head of RCMP traffic services says officers issued more than 10 tickets in just over an hour Thursday
Whitehorse police officers gave out about 10 tickets for distracted driving in just over an hour Thursday, according to Cpl. Shawn Pollard, the head of RCMP traffic services in the territory.
Pollard said an officer dressed in street clothes stood at several intersections in the city at –27 C spotting drivers using a cellphone.
"Well obviously there's lots going on, lots of people doing it," said Pollard about the high number of drivers spotted in a short period of time by the officer.
"You know I hear it continually, people honking their horns at intersections because people are sitting there texting or the other thing I see very often is people swerving on the road and sometimes we wonder whether they're impaired drivers," he said.
"But it's relatively clear that they're looking down and texting from their lap and doing whatever they're doing," said Pollard.
He said he's sure people know how dangerous it, but they're doing it anyway.
"Driving takes your full attention at all times and you shouldn't be doing anything other than paying attention to what's ahead of you, what's going on.
"You know when you're looking down, things can happen in a millisecond and it's over," Pollard said.
He said crashes due to distracted driving are a big problem across the country with some provinces reporting that it's now killing more people than impaired driving.