'Tears were shed' says Toronto cop amid week-long distracted driving crackdown

Toronto motorists are expressing "instant remorse" when they are caught using cell phones while driving during a week-long police crackdown against the behaviour, an officer says.

"Tears were shed," Sgt. Brett Moore, spokesperson for Toronto police traffic services, told CBC Radio's Metro Morning on Tuesday, day two of the police campaign against distracted driving.

"It's a little bit too late," he added. "If you get a ticket, it's a choice. It doesn't have to happen. There are mechanisms in place in the vehicles to allow you to go hands free. It really is a selfish act."

Moore said the only people who should be crying are the victims of distracted driving.

The Toronto police campaign, which runs until Sunday, is a "zero tolerance" effort aimed at drivers using hand-held devices and the idea is to improve road safety.

Stiffer penalties now in effect

Police are trying to make drivers aware of stiffer provincial penalties for distracted driving that came into effect on January 1st. Motorists are being reminded not to scroll through Facebook, check Twitter, text friends and type addresses into GPS devices while they are operating a vehicle.

Drivers, he added, are allowed a "single touch." Moore says that means "on, off, that's it."

Moore said what officers are seeing during the campaign is not surprising. On the campaign's first day, officers reported being almost able to see photos on some Facebook feeds of drivers after they were stopped.

Distracted driving 'too prevalent'

"We threw a significant amount of resources at the campaign. We're out there. This time, we deployed a few extra tactics to give the advantage to officers to see distracted drivers, people holding their phones in their cars," he said.

"It's too prevalent on the roads. That's the sad part of it. You could look around and people see it all the time. Everybody has a story, everybody sees a distracted driver, either at a red light, going down on the highways, weaving in, showing signs of almost impairment."

The campaign, which involves officers on foot, bicycles, patrol vehicles, unmarked vehicles and on TTC buses, is an attempt to get people to change their behaviour, he said. Hiding a phone in a lap is still distracted driving, he added.

"The campaign focuses the energy of a police service, all hands on deck approach ... to really focus on a single challenge that we are all facing."

Under provincial laws on distracted driving, first-time offenders will face a fine of at least $615, and up to $1,000, and three demerit points. As of Jan. 1 this year, the Ontario transportation ministry also has the option to suspend a driver's licence for up to three days for his or her first conviction.

The penalties get stiffer upon a driver's second and third offences with increased fines and longer suspensions.

Campaign will be success when drivers comply

Moore acknowledged that cell phones are addictive, but given that distracted driving causes injuries and deaths, there's no excuse, he said.

"The messages are clear," he said.

As for whether the campaign will be successful or not, Moore said police will believe their efforts have paid off when the majority of drivers comply with the law and distracted driving is not something officers see every day. He compared it to rules on the use of selt belts, which the majority of drivers comply with now.

"The real win is when we have these conversations where we don't see it happen everyday on the roads," he said.

According to Ontario data on crashes from 2013, one person is injured in a distracted-driving collision every half hour and a driver using a phone is four times more likely to crash than a driver focused on the road.

As well, deaths from crashes caused by distracted driving have doubled since 2000.