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Canada's B.C. province gets tougher on distracted driving

Xinhua, May 10, 2016 Adjust font size:

Canada's western province of British Columbia will take a harder line on drivers who use their cellphones while driving, the provincial government said Monday.

Those who are caught breaking the rule will face higher fines and the possibility of a driving prohibition for repeat offenders, beginning June 1, according to the government.

The tougher measures includes raising the current penalty of 167 CAD (128 U.S. dollars) for distracted driving to 543 CAD (418 dollars) for the first offence, 888 CAD (684 dollars) for a second offence within a year and 1,600 CAD (1233 dollars) for a third offence. The demerit points on driver's license will be increased from three points to four.

The driver may even receive a driving prohibition of three to 12 months depending on the seriousness of their offences, according to the new rule.

"These tough new sanctions reflect what our public consultation process indicated -- 90 percent wanted higher fines. It targets distracted drivers where it hurts through their wallets," said B.C. Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Morris.

More than 60 drivers are killed by distracted drivers on B.C. roads and about 330 are seriously injured every year. Between 2010 and 2014, police officers throughout B.C. issued more than 42,000 tickets to distracted drivers, according to police information. Endi