Alberta soft on distracted driving
Fines among lowest in Canada, with no plan to increase them
Distracted driving fines for Alberta drivers are now the lowest in Canada outside of the Maritime provinces — and the province plans for it to stay that way.
In Alberta, drivers caught using cellphones or performing other actions deemed distracting face a $287 fine and three demerit points.
That’s by far the lowest in Western Canada after Saskatchewan more than doubled its fines effective Feb. 1, with distracted drivers in that province now facing a $580 fine. Only Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Nunavut — which doesn’t have any distracted driving legislation — have fines lower than Alberta.
Alberta Transportation, however, says it doesn’t have any plans to increase fines for distracted driving.
The province doesn’t keep statistics on distracted driving collisions or fatalities. According to Calgary police, officers issued 4,384 distracted driving tickets in 2019 compared with 5,944 in 2018 — a 26 per cent drop year over year.
But a drop in ticketing doesn’t necessarily mean fewer Calgarians are driving distracted, says
Dale Seddon of the Calgary Police Service traffic unit.
“I don’t think we’re super encouraged by the fact that there’s been a decrease in the last year’s stats of about 26 per cent,” Seddon said. “Enforcement can take place in different areas at different times and we end up with different priorities. You can see a decrease in enforcement for distracted driving tickets, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into that many more people not doing it.”
“I do think, though, in fairness to the community, that we are getting better with it, but there’s still a long way to go.”
The province designates February as distracted driving month in Alberta, meaning some police forces, including in Lethbridge, place special focus on the offence during the month.
Increased fines could help alter behaviour, says Sgt. Kevin Talbot of the Lethbridge Police Service traffic unit, but he says a more effective deterrent is educating drivers on the human effect of distracted driving.
“The focus should be on the impact as far as collisions are concerned. Secondary to that should be that it’s going to cost you money and demerits,” Talbot said. “I don’t think people understand how simply glancing at your phone on your way home from work could be that dangerous until you get into a collision.”
Saskatchewan’s new fines include escalating penalties for second and third offences within a 12-month period, which will cost drivers $1,400 and $2,100 respectively, plus a seven-day vehicle seizure.
In Alberta, there are no increases to fines for subsequent offences.
The province last increased distracted driving fines on Jan. 1, 2016.
Between 2016 and 2019, distracted driving convictions in Alberta dropped by 14 per cent. In 2019, drivers aged 30 to 34 were most frequently convicted of distracted driving.
“People need to realize that distracted driving has caused more collisions than impaired driving,” Seddon said. “And it’s something that’s easily preventable just by making the decision not to do it.”