While January saw a decline in the amount of impaired driving tickets issued province-wide, distracted driving due to cellphone use, almost doubled from the statistically low numbers recorded in December.

With the spotlight for December and January focusing on impaired driving, SGI and law enforcement both focused on reducing impaired driving offences through education and increased police awareness. December saw 352 impaired driving offences, whereas January recorded approximately a third less at 224 offences for the month.

These offences include both Criminal Code charges and roadside administrative suspensions and totals for alcohol versus drug impairment was not differentiated.

As the impaired driving instances fell, distracted driving offences nearly doubled, however, Tyler McMurchy, media relations manager for SGI, said, “January’s numbers reflect what we saw most of the year through 2018 and December was an unusually low month”. He continued by saying, they would like to see those numbers remain low, however, the jump from 375 (282 for cellphone use) in December, to 640 (545 for cellphone use) in January does not indicate an unusual spike, it is just an increase back to the approximate average.

As cellphones continue to evolve and people become more dependant on certain apps, such as GPS and streaming music, it may be second nature to some to reach for their phone while driving to change the song or find directions. However, McMurchy explained that simply holding your phone, or excessively using the touchscreen even if it is mounted on the dash can land you a ticket.

“Anytime someone is paying more attention to the device, even if it is mounted and not being held, can distract drivers from what is happening around them and if caught, could result in a ticket,” said McMurchy.

Cellphones aren't the only technology that is rapidly advancing, newer model vehicles can be equipped with large touchscreen displays that are used for a number of functions including music and climate control. McMurchy said these devices are not exempt from the distracted driving laws and reiterated, if drivers are not adequately focused on driving, they could find themselves with a distracted driving charge.

In addition to the impaired driving and distracted driving offences, in the month of January, there were also 5160 tickets for speeding and aggressive driving, as well as, 383 tickets issued in relation to seat-belts and car seats, which is the spotlight for February.