Distracted driving fine 'doesn't cut it,' Calgary police chief says

Calgary's police chief says the current fine for distracted driving just isn't enough.

Chief Rick Hanson says he wants the provincial government to look at introducing demerit points for the offence to discourage people from driving while distracted. However, the province says it wants the current legislation, which hands down a $171 fine, to be in place for five years before it reviews the rules.

"From a Calgary [Police Service] perspective, until there's demerit points associated to distracted driving we are just going to continue to see people driving down the road texting away and weaving along, lane to lane, and answering phone calls and running their office out of their car because frankly, that's the cost of doing business to many people," Hanson said.

Hanson says there are studies out of the U.S. that claim distracted driving kills more people than impaired driving.

The Alberta Motor Association [AMA]says it would like to have a better understanding of distracted driving before advocating for any changes.

"Let's get it right, let's understand what we're trying to address," said Don Szarko, spokesperson for the AMA. "Then if we need to apply different disincentives, different fines and penalties, then we'll have a clearer sense of what they should be."

Szarko says the AMA has not been able to find the U.S. studies Hanson referenced.