SGI is reporting that police caught 658 people not paying attention to the road ahead in October.
They were issued tickets for a distracted driving offence during their Traffic Safety Spotlight enforcement that took place during the month. 538 were for cell phone use, while 120 were for driving without due care and attention.
SGI notes this number is a significant drop from the all-time Traffic Safety Spotlight record set in October of last year, but is still a number that is higher than it should be.
SGI is touting a new distracted driving awareness campaign which "encourages drivers to focus on the road ahead, because everything else can wait." They note distracted driving tickets start at $580 and four demerit points and the penalties increase for repeat offences, including vehicle impoundments.
It was noted distracted driving contributed to 16 deaths and more than 4,500 collisions.
Other results reported in October;
437 impaired driving offences, including 352 Criminal Code charges;
6,906 tickets for speeding/aggressive driving;
403 improper seatbelt or child restraint use.
