Don’t panic.
Getting your hands on your Big Mac and fries or your daily Starbucks fix in the drive-thru isn’t likely to come with a side of a distracted driving ticket for $368.
In light of March being Distracted Driving Month for police across B.C., there had been conversations Thursday morning on several radio stations involving police and lawyers about the possibility of being hit with the aforementioned fine for using an electronic device while driving through fast food outlets.
It was suggested that using your device in the drive-thru was akin to using it while stopped at traffic lights or at a rail crossing.
There was even a light-hearted mention of police officers posing as staff at the drive-thru window to catch you in the act.
However, Cpl. Mike Halskov, spokesperson for the BC Highway Patrol (BCHP), said targeted drive-thrus for distracted drivers is absolutely not on officers’ radars.
“While technically possible because one is in the ‘act of driving,’ even when in a drive-thru, our BCHP officers are extremely unlikely to engage in this practice of enforcing the legislation – it violates the spirit and intent of the law,” Halskov told the Richmond News.
You must be parked to not be driving in B.C.
Technically, he added, one must be legally parked, not on the roadway, with transmission in “park” to use your electronic device and being stopped in a drive-thru or at a traffic light is still considered "driving."
Halsov said the practice of ticketing people in drive-thrus is “not viewed favourably as an effective means to enforce the legislation and, while I could never profess to speak for the court, I think traffic court judges would frown on this practice for the reason I mentioned.”
A Burnaby woman was, however, ticketed last December for using her phone while driving in a COVID-19 testing line-up.
Vancouver lawyer never had to defend drive-thru ticket....yet
Meanwhile, Kyla Lee, of Acumen Law, who specializes in driving-related cases, told the News that she’s never defended a ticket that someone got in a drive-thru, nor has she heard of such an instance.
“I would love to argue a case like this because it is totally an abuse of power and authority - not only for police to show up in the workplaces of the frontline service industry, (but also) to enforce laws that no one is complaining about,” said Lee, adding that there would also be time and money wasted enforcing distracted driving in “absurd situations where the public interest is not served.”
Lawyer: People are not dying in drive-thrus
Pointing to the most recent fatality statistics from distracted driving, Lee said that there are no accidents or deaths in drive-thrus.
“This is not what is causing the 70+ deaths a year due to distracted driving,” she said.
“Actions like this undermine public confidence in the legitimacy of law enforcement measures for distracted driving, in my opinion, and will have an opposite effect, whereby people are less likely to comply with the law.”
According to the BCHP, distracted driving is responsible for more than 25 per cent of all car-crash fatalities and is the second leading cause of fatal collisions in B.C.
Police say distracted driving is more than using a cellphone or electronic device, and that it includes personal grooming, eating or drinking and reading. Other distractions include unsecured pets, passengers and not knowing your route.
Penalties for distracted driving in B.C.
Police say fines for using an electronic device while driving starts at $368, along with four penalty points.
From there, the costs increase with each subsequent offence.
ICBC says the premiums range from $252 for four points to $34,560 for 50 points or more.
