Crack down harder on distracted driving

Re: “Crashes up 23 per cent in three years: ICBC,” Aug. 4.

ICBC reports car crashes increased in frequency by 23 per cent between 2013 and 2016 in B.C. This is an alarming development in view of the threat to human life and the financial burden placed on B.C.’s drivers.

It is widely reported that distraction outranks alcohol impairment as the cause of motor-vehicle collisions — dramatically so in some regions. This is hardly surprising considering the iron grip many motorists seem to be held in by socialmedia addiction.

I would like to know why motor-vehicle accident reports published in the media rarely confirm distracted driving as a cause. This appears to be at odds with reported statistics. Is an opportunity being missed to remind the public of the urgency and the seriousness of this problem?

I believe consequences for distracted driving need to be much more severe — the message is not getting through. Offenders are either unable or unwilling to defer gratification and put their devices away to concentrate on driving.

American authorities recently oversaw the crushing of over a ton of ivory in Times Square — a pointed message to poachers. Perhaps the image of a ton of confiscated cellphones being reduced to dust by an industrial rock-crusher in a prominent public venue would help set the tone as far as texting-while-driving is concerned.

David Masini Victoria