Distracted driving caused 86 deaths in B.C. in a year, marking near 40% annual spike: report

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A new report is raising alarm over a concerning trend in British Columbia, where the number of distracted driving fatalities increased by nearly 40 per cent in a single year.

Data released by the insurance comparison company HelloSafe on Thursday shows 86 people in B.C. died in 2021 as a result of traffic crashes caused by distracted driving—representing about a quarter of the total 348 deaths recorded nationwide that year.

Compared to 2020, when B.C. recorded 62 distracted driving deaths, the following year saw fatalities spike by 38.7 per cent.

HelloSafe defines distracted driving as “any action that takes the driver’s attention away from the road” that affects motorists, passengers, pedestrians and cyclists alike.

Some examples provided in the report include texting or emailing, programming a GPS device, watching a video, reading, doing personal grooming and eating or drinking.

The company says distracted driving is an “unfortunate phenomenon” that has been trending upwards since 2019.

The latest data shows that 29.15 per cent of fatal collisions in B.C. have been linked to distracted driving—up from 25.08 in 2019.

HelloSafe was unable to provide breakdowns of where in B.C. the distracted driving deaths were recorded, or what behaviours were most commonly linked to the fatal collisions.

“The only data that we could find on this is that in 60 per cent of the distracted driving collisions, the use of a cell phone is involved,” Alexandre Desoutter, a spokesperson for HelloSafe, wrote in an email to CTV News. “This statistic applies for the whole of Canada and not only B.C.”

HelloSafe’s report highlights that, while all provinces have legislation in place to punish distracted driving, B.C.’s penalty is among the strictest nationwide.

Distracted drivers in B.C. face a $543 fine and four demerits on their record, plus two or more infractions within a year can result in a driving ban between three and 12 months.

When asked about the goal of the report, Desoutter said it was to raise awareness about the dangerous behaviour.

“In the end, every one of those 86 fatalities in B.C. could have been avoided. So we consider it very important to release the numbers and make them the most visible possible so that action can be taken against that,” he said.