Somebody up there doesn’t like you.
More than 40 North Shore commuters received distracted driving tickets on Wednesday after being caught using their smartphones behind the wheel by an undercover cop stationed in a cherry picker.
Officers from West Vancouver Police Department and North Vancouver RCMP, and ICBC staff set up a sting operation at the corner of Capilano Road and Marine Drive in the soaking rain in time for the afternoon rush hour.
One of the offenders even waved, smarthphone in hand, to the undercover officer, according to the RCMP.
“Most people were accepting of the fact they were in the wrong, realizing that someone had a bird’s eye view of them made them feel a little sheepish. Some were in a bit of denial or questioning whether or not we could do that,” said Cpl. Richard De Jong, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman.
Police handed out another 29 violation tickets for other offences, including one 24-hour suspension for driving under the influence of a drug.
A handful of drivers got warnings – including people who were talking hands-free but with two earbuds in the ears (only one earbud is allowed.)
A brave few tried unsuccessfully to talk their way out of the ticket.
“We only give tickets to those who we actually have a visual sighting of (being) on their phone or texting. There’s no grey area when we pull them over,” De Jong added.
Despite the increased penalties and public awareness, the problem appears to be getting worse, according to Const. Jeff Wood, West Vancouver police spokesman.
“I get it. This is the smartphone era. If you find you can’t trust yourself, turn off the phone and put it in the back of the car,” he said.
If that’s not workable, Wood said, ask a passenger to do your texting for you, or pull over where it’s safe to do so.
“It’s not worth it to actually drive your vehicle and be distracted while you’re looking at a smartphone or electronic device. You need to be paying attention to the road. Driving is a very hard task to do,” he said.
During a recent enforcement blitz, a West Vancouver officer ticketed a driver for using his phone while heading west through Taylor Way and Marine Drive. Thirteen minutes later, the same driver was back, still on his phone and was ticketed again.
“Some people learn and some people don’t,” Wood said.
