Police hope 'positive tickets' will help reduce distracted driving in area

Police and other agencies concerned about distracted driving among teens are changing their strategy this year, moving away from scare tactics and instead rewarding students for good behaviour.

National Teen Driver Safety Week is an annual campaign which seeks to raise awareness aimed at reducing distracted, aggressive and impaired driving among teens.

The campaign is run locally by the Algoma Road Safety Group, which includes local OPP, city police, Algoma Public Health, Safe Communities Partnership Emergency Management, Young Drivers of Canada, as well as various local businesses and insurance brokers.

New this year, the OPP and city police stopped vehicles entering and exiting the St. Mary’s College parking lot yesterday for a spot check.

“As students are leaving for lunch, we are having a chat with them to make sure their phones are nowhere to be found where they are driving,” said Const. Monique Baker of the OPP.

In September, a news release issued by the OPP stated that in 2016, the number of deaths related to distracted driving was on pace to double the amount of deaths caused by impaired driving.

St. Mary’s student council member Kieran Desjardins said she hopes the event will raise awareness among students and help them become better drivers.

“If we catch them at this age and they understand how dangerous it can be to be distracted drivers, they won’t do it again,” said Desjardins.

Student council members, including Desjardins, were assisting the police in issuing ‘fun tickets’, redeemable for a Froster ice beverage from Mac’s Convenience stores and a ballot for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card to Chapters book stores.

“We make sure everybody is wearing their seatbelt, nobody is drinking or eating and nobody is on their cell phones,” said Desjardins.

She said it can be difficult to change the behaviour of kids like herself who have grown up with hand-held technology.

"What most people don’t realize is just answering that text in those two seconds can ruin your life. You could get in an accident, you could get someone else hurt or yourself hurt. It’s not worth it,” said Desjardins.

Student Justin Morrisette (left) is stopped by OPP Const. Monique Baker and 'the Knight' in the St. Mary's College market lot during a National Teen Driver Safety Week event today. Kenneth Armstrong/SooToday

The hope is, by issuing tickets in a positive way, students will think about their choices when it comes to reducing the amounts of distractions around them while driving.

In recent years, the group has displayed a crashed car at various locations, which has been decorated with items commonly associated with distracted driving.

Each item represented a death of a young person in Ontario which was caused by distracted driving.

Baker said the crashed car display was effective, but the group needs to shake things up every few years to keep the message fresh.

“We’re trying something a little different this year, something that is more of a one-on-one interaction with the students,” said Baker.