Distracted driving has become an urgent national concern. A driver talking on a cell phone while driving can be as dangerous as a drunk driver, and the resulting Mississauga car accident can be just as deadly. An estimated 25 percent of the car accident fatalities in British Columbia between the years of 2009 and 2013 involved distracted drivers. In addition, an average of 12 people each year are killed on Mississauga in distracted driving accidents, according to the Times Colonist.
In an effort to improve road safety and reduce the number of distracted driving accidents, the BC government is considering tougher restrictions and harsher penalties for drivers who engage in the distracted driving behaviours. The hope is that a government crackdown would bring a sharp drop in the number of car accidents involving distracted drivers. Of course, distracted driving lawyers can also take action on their own to manage common driver distractions and reduce risk to self and others. An alert and aware driver is far less likely to be involved in a serious or fatal collision.
Since 2008, every Canadian province and territory except Nunavut has restricted the use of handheld cell phones by drivers to reduce the rate of impaired driving, according to the CBC. Although the rules vary from province to province, drivers who violate them face fines, demerit points and other penalties.
Cell phones are only one source of distracted driving accidents, a problem that grows with each passing year. About 4 million North American car accidents – or eight out of every 10 accidents (https://x-cops.ca/mississauga/) – involve driver distraction each year, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
