Advertisement

Video: Helmet cam of distracted driver in Ottawa receives mixed reaction

A motorcyclist in Ottawa took exception to one woman’s erratic driving and confronted her over her mobile phone use while at the wheel. She was initially unreceptive, then dismissive, but both parties have come under fire for their actions in the video.

Biker Erik Hanna was near Woodroffe Avenue and Baseline Road when he became irritated by the woman’s distracted driving, and decided to confront her. She ignored him initially, but after passing each other aggressively in traffic she finally pulled over and engaged with

Hanna.

“I pulled ahead because in my mind it was the safest thing to do,” Hanna explaned on Monday. “I’d rather not be behind her when someone else doesn’t notice that she’s not going through the green.

“But then I guess she decided to use my lane to pass by me, to prove some sort of point. She came within about three inches of hitting my side-view mirror. It was a scary moment, and just gut instinct that kicked in to go follow her.”

He threatened to involve the police, to which she responded: “Don’t you have something better to do?”

“No,” he replied. “That’s dangerous to my life. It’s dangerous to other people’s lives. This is the best thing I can do right now.” Despite his determination, he decided against pursuing her, and passed the footage onto authorities instead - but police say the driver likely won’t be charged because of limited resources.

Sgt. Mark Gatien, of the Ottawa police traffic enforcement unit believes there is enough evidence in the footage to charge the woman with texting while driving and improper lane change — but he added that Hanna could also face charges for manoeuvring between two lanes to knock on her window.

Gatien went on to caution against attempts at citizen policing, especially in traffic.

“I would caution people not to do this in the sense that he committed a couple of offences himself by splitting the lane going down the middle,” Gatien said. “I can’t prove it but he might have been speeding. In the video, by his own admission, [he] follows this lady after the fact by a number of kilometres which could have put her a bit unnervy.

"We prefer that he would have stopped.”

Additional reporting by CBC