Texting drivers irk insurers
Drivers will be getting mailed reminders not to use cellphones while behind the wheel
Leanne Cassap of ICBC, left, and Stephanie Cowger of SpeedWatch kept an eye out for drivers using cellphones.
Photograph by: Matthew Claxton , Langley Advance
Distracted drivers are not an endangered species on Langley's roads.
An RCMP-organized event Thursday saw SpeedWatch volunteers taking to 200th Street, between Willowbrook Drive and 64th Avenue, to watch for drivers using cellphones.
The support for the RCMP led to several of the distracted drivers being pulled over for a ticket, but the majority will be getting letters from ICBC about their behaviour.
The amount of mail will fill a hefty sack for a postal worker: 177 letters will be sent out.
Leanne Cassap of ICBC said the insurance company, the police, and local volunteers are all working together to remind people to keep their eyes on the road this fall.
Stephanie Cowger, who runs SpeedWatch as a community policing worker for the Langley RCMP, was one of those taking note of distracted drivers this week.
She's seen every age and gender of drivers involved in using cellphones or texting.
"Fancy cars, junkers, you name it," said Cowger.
Standing by the sidewalk, she's seen drivers so engrossed in their phones they didn't even notice her standing right by their bumper, taking down their plate number.
While those getting a ticket or a letter will have a personal reminder not to drive and phone, ICBC is also trying to hammer the point home with a series of ads on TV and radio.
Cassap notes that drivers are four times more likely to crash while talking on the phone, and 23 times more likely if texting.
ICBC is also offering a series of ringtones from its website, www.icbc.com, that play songs in a variety of genres, reminding the user not to pick up if they are behind the wheel.
Mobile phone use has been banned while driving, unless drivers use a hands-free one-button system.
Texting is simply banned completely.
