You might think you can get away with it, but the RCMP is always looking out for distracted drivers.
According to insurance date provided by MPI, distracted driving collisions in the province increased from almost 2 and a half thousand in 2011 to over 11 thousand in 2016.
With an average of one in three road deaths in Manitoba and thousands of collisions attributed to distracted driving annually, Corporal Brett Church, with the Russell and Roblin RCMP Detachment, says the problem is getting worse.
“I think the drivers don’t recognize the seriousness of it and the dangers of it, and I don’t think it has to be in the city; it can be on the highway, on any dirt road, or municipal road. I think it’s happening everywhere.”
MPI says that many of the deaths that occur on public roads are avoidable if drivers would only put their phones down and pay attention to the road.
Distracted driving costs MPI at least an estimated $70 million dollars per year.
