For the seventh straight year, distracted driving is on track to become the main reason for fatal collisions in Ontario.
As the OPP prepares to launch another distracted driving campaign this weekend, Sergeant Dave Rektor says they're asking passengers with inattentive drivers to speak up.
"Distracted driving is 100% preventable. Passengers in the vehicle have every right to speak up with regard to distracted driving and they should be. If they see somebody that is distracted the onus should be on them to tell the driver to drive correctly, put down any distractions and concentrate on the road," he says.
Distractions can include eating and drinking, talking to a passenger, fiddling with in-car technology and in Rektor's own experience, they can be unusual.
"A car was weaving all over the road, I pulled beside it. And the person had sheet music in the steering wheel, they're steering with their knees and playing a trumpet while they're driving," he says.
The OPP says 12 of the 51 fatal crashes in Ontario so far this year were caused by a distracted driver. Officers across the province will conduct a distracted driving campaign beginning Saturday. Fines for driving while distracted range from $400 to $2,000 and can include six months of jail time.
