Toronto police 'Last Call' Campaign - 8 deaths too many

This week, Toronto police have been riding the red rocket, Toronto Transit Commission's streetcars, watching drivers as they are passed by the street car. The drivers do not expect the police to pop off the vehicle and grab them for chatting on a cell phone while driving.

What a fabulous idea.
I have many fine memories of traveling the TTC streetcar to Ryerson University, 1975 -79.

The only people who can be on their phones, or other handheld devices, are emergency crews. The same is true for British Columbia.

The fines in Ontario begin at $155, but if you go to court the judge can change it from $50 to $500!

There have been 8 deaths attributed to distracted driving this year, 2012.
The fine in Ontario can go as high as $2000 if a judge makes the decision.

I love my GPS in the forest.
Essential!

This is true for all handheld devices: GPS, iPhone, Crackberry, and entertainment devices. There are many who are addicted to their technology and cannot simply concentrate on the road and driving conditions.

You can't tweet, text, or talk. Of course, you shouldn't.
In house hunting, driving miles with real estate agents, I must admit that I have chastised a couple to put down their phones. They happened to be driving. You must speak out. We spent weeks house-hunting, driving with distracted drivers who risked it all for a call.

In one year Toronto Police Services (TPS) have laid 17,000 charges. I find it shocking, but not surprising. Sgt. Burrows says one is 23 times more likely to have an accident while distracted by a device.

The OPP charged 8,522 drivers last year for using a hand-held device while driving.

She was approaching a stop light, I was shocked.

 It took TPS 30 years to get a 90% rate for drivers to wear seatbelts. We can do this for distracted drivers!

It will take family and friends to speak up and speak out, not just lawmakers and the law, to patrol.

How important can it be to risk life and limb?
How fair is it to take another's life, depriving a family of a family member?

Speak up. Speak out. The life you save might be your own.

You are forewarned:

He was in a big truck, waiting to do a left turn.

 OPP cracking down on distracted driving
In 2010, there were more than 7,000 collisions on OPP-patrolled roads due to distracted driving resulting in 35 deaths and over 1,000 injuries.

In Feb., 2011, Toronto police charge 2500 in distracted driving crackdown

23 Feb 2011 – It's been a little over a year since police began nabbing drivers talking on their phones while driving — but apparently motorists have not ...

Distracted drivers are everywhere. These are all my photos, and there were many I spotted but couldn't grab a snap. I can't tell you how often I see them when we are taking our Daycations!

For Gen Y, they seem not to heed our warnings. Our adolescents think themselves immortal. These teens have grown up with technology and have taken this egocentric spirit into their adulthood.
Parents, grandparents, speak out and speak up.

He nearly hit me as I was stepping onto the curb from a cross walk.

This driver looks guilty. He must be texting from his lap!

Toronto police crack down on distracted drivers

14 Feb 2011 – 'Last call' campaign targets drivers ignoring year-old law banning use of electronic devices

Cops crackdown on distracted drivers

That's just the “tip of the iceberg” of Torontonians driving distracted,  Toronto Police Const. Hugh Smith said Monday at the launch of the Don't Drive ...