The latest and most deadly sin on our roads

Impaired driving. Distracted driving. And now, aggressive driving. For police and the rest of us concerned about how increasingly unsafe our roads are becoming, it’s like a game of Whack-A-Mole — smack down one problem, and another takes over.

The most recent deadly flavour of the month: Aggressive driving. Last week the OPP released a report that says fatalities caused by dangerous driving have spiked by 80 per cent. Twenty-seven fatalities so far this year, up from 15 at the same time last year. And the busiest driving season hasn’t even started yet.

It’s customary to bemoan the current state of driving and to wonder where it comes from. Why aren’t more people getting the message about aggressive driving, as they did with impaired driving? Why are there still so many people driving far too fast, tailgating, passing dangerously, not using signals, passing on the wrong side, driving over sidewalks?

Are there really more and more people driving like this, or is it just that there are more cars? How much of an influence are pop culture icons like movies that glorify speeding and reckless driving? Why is the prevalence of road rage growing? And, most important, what can be done about the deadly trend?

Education is part of the answer, although it is debatable how effective that has been in reducing distracted driving. Still, it makes sense to try getting through to people, especially young, impressionable drivers.

But then what? Clearly, even though penalties have been increased — licence suspension for up to two years, fines of $2,000 to $10,000 with up to six months imprisonment — they are still not an adequate deterrent. Ontario Tourism Minister Eleanor McMahon has a private member’s bill that would allow for fines up to $50,000, five-year licence suspension and two years imprisonment. That bill deserves support.

We should also stop referring to this as “stunt driving,” the name for the current law. It’s not about drivers doing stunts, it’s about deadly actions by people operating motor vehicles. Stunting doesn’t convey the seriousness of the actions involved. Call it “criminal driving” perhaps.

There also should be more emphasis on citizen involvement in reporting such driving. The OPP has a tip line, and some other police services have similar programs, but we need a concerted and unified effort. The message needs to be: Drive dangerously, and every responsible citizen will do their utmost to see you arrested and punished.

Finally, let’s get over our aversion to photo radar. Speed nearly always goes hand-in-hand with reckless driving. Photo radar wouldn’t stop all the idiotic behaviour, but it would help by making it happen at lower, less deadly, speeds. That’s called improving public safety, which is reason enough for photo radar.