Loud music, smoking, reading books: What constitutes distracted driving?

The police have seen it all when it comes to distracted driving.

From eating and texting to brushing teeth or reading a book — yes, reading a book — the ways in which a driver’s attention can be taken off the road are plentiful.

It’s often up to the discretion of officers to decide if a ticket is warranted or not and drivers don’t always agree, but one thing ’s for sure: you can get a ticket for just about anything if it contributes to unsafe driving or results in an accident.

“It’s all about how the officers observe the violation,” said Staff Sgt. Mark Flodell with Saskatchewan RCMP traffic services.

Recently, an Ontario woman was fined $400 for looking at her Apple watch while stopped at a red light.

She argued the law that prohibits drivers from holding or using a handheld wireless communication device shouldn’t apply to the smart watch and that she was merely checking the time, which requires a tap to activate the display.

A judge disagreed, saying evidence clearly showed the woman was distracted when the officer who issued the ticket was observing her.

Similar to Ontario, Saskatchewan’s law, which was amended in January 2017, prohibits holding, viewing, using or manipulating a hand-held electronic device while driving.

“It’s kind of in that grey area right now,” said Flodell.

He hasn’t seen the issue of a smart watch come up in Saskatchewan yet, but said eventually a judge will have to make a decision if that’s considered a hand-held device or not.

“As far as whether we’d enforce it or not, I think it’s going to be part of the officer’s discretion,” said Flodell. “If we see someone having it up and trying to text onto it and adjust things, then it’s more being used as a mobile device. Whereas if it’s just ... being looked at, it’s no different than a watch.”

Sgt. Todd Gall with the Regina Police Service traffic safety unit hasn’t come across the situation yet either, but said he’s aware of the case in Ontario and echoed the sentiments expressed by Flodell in terms of how they might deal with it.

While the number of distracted driving tickets have gone up since Saskatchewan’s laws were changed last year, SGI spokesman Tyler McMurchy said he thinks the attitudes of drivers are changing.

“People are starting to recognize that it’s a significant traffic safety concern. It’s not just an annoying habit,” he said. “It’s actually a dangerous habit.”

Despite that, he said change takes time and it’s still a big problem.

“There are people who think it’s OK for them to do because they can multitask,” he said. “The message to them is, ‘No, you can’t.’ You’re far more likely to cause a collision or drive dangerously when you are distracted.”

Saskatchewan’s other distracted driving law covers driving without due care and attention or without a reasonable consideration for others.

Violations can include things like brushing your hair, driving with a dog on your lap, smoking, drinking, talking to a passenger, adjusting your radio, listening to excessively loud music or reaching down to pick something up off the floor or from the back seat.

“Those are all things where we have to consider,” said Gall. “It’s not definitely an automatic (ticket). There’s nothing to say you can’t, but if it’s a direct contributor to the accident, or your driving actions ... then that’s the undue care and attention.”

While it can be tempting to sneak a peek at your phone or try to multitask on the highway, the risks of doing so are great.

“It’s a 3,000-pound weapon, really, if not handled correctly,” said Gall. “Everyone’s time is valuable, but at the same time it only takes a few seconds to pull over.”