Manitoba seizing licenses of distracted drivers

In Manitoba, it’s now hands on the phone, hand over the driver’s license.

Drivers distracted by their handheld electronics will see a $672 fine. At least as likely to grab their attention is the roadside confiscation of licenses. The suspensions will last for three days and offenders will have to pay a $50 fee to reinstate their licenses.

Repeat offenders (within a decade) will suffer a seven-day license loss.

Police will take away the offender’s license on the spot and issue a short-term permit to allow for driving home. The changes went into effect Nov. 1.

Offenders in the easterly prairie province also will see 5 demerit points vs.the license, which affects insurance and registration fees.

The previous fine for use of handheld cell phones was $203 — the more-than-tripled increase taking Manitoba from having one of the lowest distracted driving penalties in the nation to the highest.

The Criminal Defence Lawyers Association of Manitoba said the roadside suspensions were “a real problem for us” because guilt was being assigned at the time of the charge.

Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler admitted: “Nov. 1 is going to be very shocking for a lot of people.”

While drivers can be ticketed for other forms of distraction, the roadside license suspensions apply only to those caught holding their personal electronics devices.

Distracted driving was the leading cause of fatal crashes in Manitoba in 2017. The number of crashes also has soared, up to 15,403 last year.

“We have a problem and we want to be very clear that as a government, we take distracted driving as serious as drinking and driving,” Schuler has said of the changes.

The Drivers and Vehicles Act also has been updated to make careless driving a reportable offense to Manitoba Public Insurance.

The province recently increased the demerit points for distracted driving from 2 to 5, but use of demerits hasn’t done much to halt the dangerous practice, officials said.

Also in Canada, British Columbia on Nov. 1 hiked fines under the driver-risk premium by 20 percent. For distracted drivers, that comes into play after two or more convictions. The premium is in addition to any penalties assessed for infractions, and comes into play during vehicle registration and licensing. Premiums will go up another 20 percent in November 2019.

> Read more about distracted driving laws in Manitoba.