Distracted driving tickets are down, but it's still a major concern on Saskatchewan's roads, say experts

Distracted driving remains a major concern on Saskatchewan roads, with experts and advocates warning that even a few seconds of inattention can have deadly consequences.

Driving instructors, police officers and other Saskatchewan residents spoke with host Sam Maciag on CBC Radio's Blue Sky Wednesday to share their experiences with distracted driving, and their thoughts on how to prevent it.

Ron Buddecke, a driving instructor, said distractions come in three forms.

Those are "a visual distraction, where you're actually taking your eyes off the road; a manual distraction, where you're taking your hands off the wheel; and then you can have a cognitive [distraction], where you're taking your mind off of what you're doing," Buddecke said.

Texting while driving is particularly dangerous, because it involves all three types of distraction, he said.

"Texting while driving makes the driver 23 times more likely to crash," he said. "Drivers talking on a cellphone, just talking, are four times more likely to have a car collision."

Blue Sky51:23The high cost of distracted driving

Host Sam Macaig was joined by the mother of a 17-year-old who died after she collided with a train because of distracted driving. Sandra LaRose shared her daughter's story and the lessons she hopes other people take. We were also joined by a police officer who tells us how NOT to get a distracted driving ticket, and a former officer turned driving instructor.

Distractions aren't just limited to phones, he added, and can include "MP3 players that are going, passengers and pets," as well as "eating and drinking — I've seen that lots. And adjusting your radio is a distraction."

He also noted that billboards, pedestrians and even GPS devices can take a driver's focus away from the road.

For Sandra LaRose, a road safety educator and speaker, the dangers of distracted driving are personal. Her daughter, Kailynn, was killed in a crash. LaRose now advocates for safer driving habits.

"I'm hyper-aware now … especially since I do a lot of highway driving," she said. "From the distance, cars coming towards me, I can tell when they're starting to veer into my lane or they're veering towards the ditch."

LaRose said she often sees distracted drivers in the city, including people on phones.

She urged people to think twice before making calls to drivers.

"If you know they're on the road, don't call," she said. "There's nothing worth losing your life over — absolutely nothing. Everything can wait."

Officer issued 1,500 cellphone tickets in 1 year

Regina Police Service Const. Mike Seel, known as "Hawkeye" on social media for his work in traffic enforcement, said distracted driving remains a serious problem, despite some improvements.

"There's that one year I personally wrote almost 1,500 cellphone tickets," he said. "In the last couple years, it's still around 500 or 600 that I've written a year, but that's a marked decrease, which is good to see."

Seal said a combination of factors — including newer cars with hands-free technology, harsher penalties and public awareness — have contributed to the decrease.

But distracted driving remains "literally just below impaired driving, and causing injuries and deaths for accidents in the province," he said, and he still catches distracted drivers on a regular basis.

"I had a lady I pulled over, and it was the fourth time in 12 months that she's been on her cellphone," he said.

Regina officer says distracted driving still a big concern

6 hours ago

Duration 2:00

Distracted driving remains a major concern on Saskatchewan roads. Mike Seel from the Regina Police Service spoke about it with host Sam Maciag on Blue Sky.

LaRose says she hopes people understand that distracted driving is preventable.

"We have not lived with cellphones for eternity, and we all managed," she said. "We managed without Google Maps, we managed without phones, we managed without texting. Your life is far more precious than your time."