Distracted drivers in Manitoba will face licence suspension, tripling of fine

The Manitoba government will impose tougher sanctions on distracted drivers beginning next month.

If you are caught with a cellphonebehind the wheel, police willstrip you of your driver's licence for three days and level a fine triple the current amount of $672.

"November the firstis going to be very shocking for a lot of people,"Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler said of the day the new legislation,introduced in the Manitoba Legislature earlier this year, takes effect.

Distracted drivers who are caught by police will face a mandatory three-daysuspension fromgetting behind the wheel. They will besubject to an additional seven-day ban if they break the law againwithin a 10-year period.

The fine amount for carrying a handheld electronic device will jump threefold from $203 to $672 and, if convicted, people will continue receivingfive demerit pointson their driving record.

Penalty equal to public pot

The new fine is the same penalty cannabis users will face for smoking pot in public, but lower than the minimum$1,000penalty for a first conviction of impaired driving.

After surrendering theirlicense for using a cellphone, drivers willreceive a temporary driving permit so they aren't left stranded on the side of the road. The automatic suspension will begin at the end of the next day.

Schulerexplained that distracted driving could range from texting while behind the wheel to having a bite to eat.

Manitoba Public Insurance will be informed any time a driver is nabbed for not paying attention. Driversmust pay $50 to retrieve their license and MPImay issue a furtherdriving suspension, depending on their existing driving history.

Why one police officer has made it his personal mission to eliminate distracted driving:

Police officer's personal mission to tackle distracted driving

6 years ago

Duration 1:51

For Sgt. Rob Duttchen ending distracted driving is personal. In 2009, his father was killed in Arizona by a driver who was texting.

In addition, the Manitoba government is increasing thedemerit penalty for careless driving, beginning Nov. 1, from two points to five points. A driver does not need to be carrying a handheld device to be charged for this infraction.

Schuler said the year-after-year hikein distracted driving accidents convinced the government to enact higherpenalties.

Manitoba Public Insurancesaiddistracted driving accidents went from 4,780 in 2012to 15,403 in 2017.

Last year, 30 people lost their lives and 184 people were seriously hurt in collisions blamed on drivers who weren't alert.

"We are losing far too many of our loved ones, our fellow Manitobans, with very risky behaviours," Schuler said.

MPI will update its TV, radio and print ads to reflect the stiffer penalties for distracted driving.