Use whatever term you feel is appropriate.
Should it be desperate situations call for desperate measures?
Or could it be a statement that suggests the punishment should suit the crime.
Either one could be functional when discussing the issue of impaired driving.
Only this time, the impaired drivers being referenced are not those who have been consuming alcohol or drugs.
This time, the reference is to distracted drivers, or more clearly, drivers who are focusing more on their cellphones and text messages than they are on driving.
It was revealed two weeks ago there are now more highway accidents causing death due to distracted phone-using drivers than there are by drinking drivers.
There are more collisions being caused by phone calls and messages.
So on this subject, we suggest that logic should enter the picture somewhere within the justice system.
If an impaired driving charge is levied due to alcohol, the courts generally assess a fine of $1,000 plus costs and the loss of driving privileges for one year for first-time offenders.
If the distracted phone-using driver is charged and found guilty, might we be so bold as to suggest that a similar penalty be assessed?
It is obvious that a $280 fine isn't cutting it in the cour room, even if the matter gets that far.
If you're caught by police using the hands-on phone while driving, should you expect to pay a $1,000 fine and lose that driver's licence for a year?
On the surface that may seem to be a pretty drastic measure but so is death.
There is no need for anyone on this good green Earth to be so wired in every minute that they need to respond to a cellular phone call or message while driving. We're sorry, but there is no emergency call for you that can't wait another 25 seconds. That would give you enough time to pull over and focus on the call, if you believe it is that important.
The No. 1 cause of fatalities in Saskatchewan right now according to those who keep track of statistics, is distracted drivers. It's not booze, not icy roads, not faulty brakes. It's drivers who have become obsessed with their phones, apps and message boards.
If it requires a stiff penalty to encourage a culture shift, then perhaps the loss of an operator's licence for a year for the first offence, and measured increases for repeat offenders, might be the answer.
The solution needs to be found before more lives are lost.
The cellphone is not our slave master, it is meant to be a working tool, not an obsession. The sooner we become aware of that simple fact, the better off we'll be at least on the highway.
