Drivers in Kamloops not getting the message to put down their phones

KAMLOOPS – Hefty fines still aren't enough to tear people away from their phones when they're driving.

During an RCMP blitz on the North Shore last week, Kamloops RCMP ticketed five people for distracted driving, and six people for failing to wear a seatbelt in less than two hours.

Police teamed up with ICBC for an education and enforcement event on 12 Street and Tranquille Road on Sept. 19.

Kamloops RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jodi Shelkie says it's frustrating that people are still disobeying the law when it comes to such simple things.

"The seatbelt thing just baffles me, it’s such an easy thing to do that could save your life," Shelkie says. "It should be something that’s just done automatically."

As for using your cell phone while driving, Shelkie says despite tickets and fines, the biggest thing that could help stop people from being on their phones is public disapproval.

"Its not as socially unacceptable as it should be because so many people are doing it," she says.

Shelkie compares it to 30 years ago when it was "socially acceptable" for people to drive after having a few drinks. She says the biggest thing in helping reduce and prevent impaired driving was outcry from the public.

"If the fine isn’t enough… maybe we need to have peer pressure," Shelkie says. "This is something we haven’t been able to enforce our way out of or ticket our way out of."

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