Distracted driving caused by handheld-phone use or texting was a factor in 48 per cent of all traffic deaths in Metro Vancouver last year, according to police.
B.C. RCMP released its 2010 statistics on distracted driving on Monday to commemorate the first anniversary of the province's ban on driving while using handheld phones. Police issued 32,000 violation tickets last year, and estimate that distracted driving was a contributing factor in 32 per cent of car-crash deaths across the province.
"If you look at our statistics, it's clear the public doesn't realize just how dangerous it can be if you don't have your full focus on the road," RCMP Supt. Norm Gaumont said.
Police say that 104 traffic deaths were related to distracted driving last year, including 45 in the Lower Mainland, 30 in the southeast, 14 on Vancouver Island and 15 in the north.
Under B.C.'s law, drivers caught using a handheld device can be fined $167 and given three demerit points.
According to a B.C. Automobile Association survey released last week, 14 per cent of British Columbians admit to talking "occasionally" on handheld phones, while three per cent said they frequently use handsets.
But 80 per cent of those surveyed said they frequently see other drivers talking on handheld phones.
"The percentage of survey participants who feel there is a good chance of being caught and ticketed by law enforcement has dropped," said Allan Lamb, director of the BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation.
"We need to change that perception and continue to educate motorists about the dangers of distracted driving."
Mounties say they will spend February targeting distracted drivers with a campaign against texting or talking while driving.
"A driver travelling at 90 kilometres per hour who takes their eyes off the road for just five seconds drives the length of a football field, so even a brief glance at a text message or dialing a cell phone can cause serious injury or death," Solicitor General Rich Coleman said.
