How is it that we, as a society, are ready to condemn people for drinking and driving, but we do not criticize our fellow drivers to the same extent for distracted driving?
Impaired driving has definitely led to devastating accidents, as was seen in the case of Fallon Jessica Ouellette, the Calgary woman who pled guilty to vehicular murder in a July 2014 crash that claimed the lives of Dave Fragoso and Charlotte Patterson, and who was sentenced to ___ last Friday.
But distracted driving has had its victims too. Take Renaya Wade, who was sitting in a vehicle stalled on the Yellowhead when a distracted driver struck the vehicle. Wade suffered broken bones and a brain injury, and had to learn to walk, talk and eat again.
The difference in outrage lies in the fact that most drivers have cell phones, and most have looked at their phones from time to time while on the road. Each little buzz becomes like a siren call, of having to know who is messaging or emailing, and it might seem unbearable or unthinkable for some to wait until they have stopped driving to check their phones. For those who must be in contact with their employer or whomever else for work or personal reasons, a hands-free set is an option. For others, the relentless need to check their phones at all times, even while driving, is simply an addiction that needs to be curbed.
While distracted driving legislation allows officers to ticket people for a surprisingly wide range of infractions, 98 per cent of distracted driving tickets issued have been for cell phone use while driving.
While demerits and fines are one way to address the problem, the real problem is that distracted driving is not stigmatized in the same way as impaired driving. That public safety message has to be hammered home, so people realize and treat both problems as dangerous and potentially life threatening.
Just as we remember the victims of impaired driving, we would be wise to remember victims of distracted driving like Renaya Wade and to do as she asks when she says, “Why can’t you just keep your eyes on the damn road!”
