Photo credit: OregonDOT on Flickr

“Whoa! Look at that driver! He’s talking into an iPhone – right in front of his face!” yelled my passenger recently as we passed through the intersection of Main and Terminal in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Was the driver talking to Siri?

It’s likely that most of us see examples of this bad behaviour all too often, despite BC’s ban on hand-held devices and the $167 fine levied for infractions – not to mention the risk of death or injury to oneself or (even worse) an innocent person in the vicinity.

In BC, vehicle crashes are the number one cause of traumatic work-related deaths, according to WorkSafeBC statistics. On average, approximately 30 workers in BC are killed each year while driving, and distracted driving, such as cell phone use, is a key factor in these crashes.

The DriveCellSafe.com website says 25 per cent of vehicle crashes each year can be attributed to drivers being distracted – and most of the distraction is caused by hand-held devices.

What can be so important that they are willing to risk such serious consequences? Is it just another instance of “it won’t happen to me”? Regardless of the reasons, I feel very angry to see it – and I’ve heard a lot of people who feel the same way.

If you’ve got any tips for preventing distracted driving, I’d like to hear about them in the Comments section. Tell me where you are from and what traffic is like in your region. Also, what kinds of “distracted driver” campaigns are in your jurisdiction? Check out this video (it’s not shockvertising) from Preventable.ca.

More information on driving safely at work can be found at the Road Safety at Work website