Crash numbers edge upwards despite stiffer distracted driving penalties

Stiffer penalties for distracted drivers appear to have done little to quell the number of crashes in B.C. in the first five months.

The province rolled out tougher penalties in June, bumping up the base fines to $368, more than double the previous fine of $167. The BC Liberals also increased the number of penalty points for distracted drivers, and introduced new fines for repeat offenders.

The idea was to bring down the rate of collision, but in the first four months of the new penalties, the province's paramedics responded to 13,087 crashes.

The number is up slightly from the same period from June to October last year, which saw 12,861 crashes. The 2016 numbers show an increase of 1.76 per cent.

Paramedics responded to a total of 29,656 in all of 2015, and had responded to 24,735 this year, as of the end of October.

While the laws are still fairly new, and the data obtained by CTV News did not specify how many crashes from June to October listed distraction as a factor, the province admitted that there is still work to be done.

To view the entire article and watch the video, follow the link: http://bc.ctvnews.ca/crash-numbers-edge-upwards-despite-stiffer-distracted-driving-penalties-1.3151994