Texting and driving a focus of Teen Driver Safety Week

Sitting behind the wheel of a vehicle can be an exciting step towards adulthood for many teens, but when not taken seriously, it puts people’s lives at risk.

Using a smartphone while driving is a dangerous habit at any age, said Arold Fortin, Young Drivers’ Timmins branch owner. It's one he aims to help the younger generation break early.

“I’ve had students, sometimes, (when) I’m in a lesson and they want to answer the phone,” said Fortin.

“Put it away, put it in the backseat. Put it in the trunk if you need to. But it’s hard to get that in their (heads).”

National injury charity Parachute Canada is highlighting distracted driving during its 10th annual National Teen Driver Safety Week, to encourage young drivers to focus on the road.

The charity’s president, Pamella Fuselli, said drivers aged 16 to 25 are more likely to drive distracted — meaning while using a smartphone or doing anything that requires taking a hand off the wheel, eyes off the road or mind away from the task at hand.

Moreover, she said texting and driving makes people six times more likely to crash.

It’s one of several driving mistakes that Parachute Canada wants teens to avoid on the road.

In particular, distracted driving, which its president says people aged 16 to 25 are more likely to do than any other age group.

“Young people are killed in crashes, just generally, at a higher rate than any other age group, under the age of 75,” Fuselli said.

The Timmins Police Service’s communications coordinator, Marc Depatie, said young men tend to be well represented in convictions of texting and other forms of distracted driving.

He said police officers use discretion when dealing with drivers who are inexperienced, but will not hesitate to lay charges on drivers who act dangerously.

“Just this morning, Timmins police officers charged a 20-year-old Timmins man with stunt driving,” Depatie told CTV.

“He was driving at 102 kilometres on Riverside Drive, on a wet driving surface. This sort of driving behaviour is something not to be tolerated in any way.”

Stunt driving

That driver had his license suspended for 30 days and car impounded for 14 days, as he awaits a November court date.

The main advice from police officials and experts is to focus on the road, although they also suggest using aids like the “do not disturb” feature on smartphones to make proper driving behaviour easier.

Fuselli also suggests parents model good driving behaviour for their children, saying dangerous habits often start at home.

“It actually increases the likelihood that their kids will actually text and drive,” she said.

Fuselli also wants to remind teens that impaired driving is also unacceptable.

Timmins police data show that two 18-year-olds were charged with impaired driving this year. Last year saw five people ages 21-22 charged.

General safety tips from Fortin include keeping an eye on one’s surroundings, which he said could only be done without distractions or impairments.

“Plan ahead, slow down a bit, keep space around their vehicles,” Fortin said.

“The roads are getting slippery, people make mistakes. The more you give yourself room, the safer you’re going to be.”