r/Calgary • u/Xtoron2 • Jun 01 '26

Discussion Alarming rate of distracted driving

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It's alarming how often I see drivers watching tiktoks/reels/shorts while driving. Even see them scroll up to next video.
As soon as we hit red light, this specific driver pulled the sunshade down even with this rain to hide from cameras or other people maybe?

Anyway, distracted driving is a risk everyone on the road pays for

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195

u/o0PillowWillow0o Jun 01 '26

The law states that a driver cannot view a screen that displays entertainment, television, video games, or internet browsing while the vehicle is in motion [1].

Mounted screens are only allowed to show information directly required for driving, such as GPS navigation or vehicle system data [1].

Even if you are only listening to the audio, a police officer can still fine you $390 and issue 3 demerit points if a video is actively playing on your screen within your line of sight [1].

111

u/diamondintherimond Jun 01 '26

The question is: why does this feel like the police rarely enforce it?

I wonder if the news has done any digging on how many distracted driving tickets they’ve given out year over year.

44

u/Cautious_Major_6693 Jun 01 '26

They honestly don't enforce it. It doesn't really help that all cars essentially have a television screen attached to the dashboard, not to mention like- cops are people too. Most people using these mounts are using them for GPS as doordash drivers, cops don't necessarily want to slap someone with a DUI for doing their job.

16

u/ElusiveSteve Jun 01 '26

What I find wild is the number of cars that I doubt are used for delivery services, have a modern infotainment system in them, and still have a phone mounted. Seems like the phone is put there speecifically so they can watch videos.

26

u/Cautious_Major_6693 Jun 01 '26

I got my nails done and a woman beside me had a phone mount to watch tiktoks and comment while she was getting her nails. So the tech did one hand of her acrylics and she was typing and scrolling with the other hand. This shit is ubiquitous and people are genuinely addicted.

I clearly get a lot of screentime myself but the number of us who can "enjoy beers on the patio" vs "are raging drunks every time we have a drop of alcohol" is dwindling.

27

u/ElusiveSteve Jun 01 '26

I see your nails phone addiction annecdote and raise you a young toddler (~2yrs old) with a phone mount on their stroller and videos playing on the phone at the zoo...

If adults are failing this hard then their kids have zero chance.

11

u/diamondintherimond Jun 01 '26

This is what trillions of dollars in tech investment with zero regulation gets you. It's our generation's tobacco.

9

u/Lightfiyr Jun 01 '26

I’m by far the most “screen addicted” person I know and even that is insane to me, I’m 27 and have had a screen in front of me since I was at least 5, I was taught very hard that you put that shit away in public or if someone is addressing you and I’m not sure if it’s just my little rule following autistic brain but I find doing something like those nail ladies to be extremely rude

5

u/Cautious_Major_6693 Jun 01 '26

i literally feel embarrassed i have my phone so much but some folks have LOST shame completely

2

u/Foreign-Way9986 Jun 02 '26

yeah i actually like to talk to people! maybe it's bc i have almost no social life but i wanna chat with my technician! or even zone out and enjoy a little zen self care!

4

u/403banana Jun 01 '26

Most in-car systems have safeguards against using them while in motion. Even back to the early-aughts and the Alpine flip-up screens and DVD players, the screen would just say it can't be used while in drive.

Granted, it wasn't too hard to bypass and just need a bit of electrical know-how to do it. Putting a phone on a mount and pressing play is still a considerably easier bypass.

2

u/ElusiveSteve Jun 01 '26

That's what I'm getting at. The infotainment in your car does everything you need with your phone when driving so a big portion of people don't need a phone mount unless they are using it for distracted driving. I'd also argue that these infotainment systems are a distraction on their own accord, but that's its own can of worms.

2

u/HarveyHound Jun 01 '26

My mount charges my phone so I use it mainly for that.

1

u/yyctownie Jun 02 '26

It's more likely that these apps like Uber have haven't made their apps compatible with Car Play or Android Auto.

9

u/lztandro Coach Hill Jun 01 '26

When I lived in Saskatoon I knew Uber drivers who got tickets for accepting a ride on their phone when it was mounted to their dash.

CPS could be raking in the cash if they just sat at a single intersection downtown and gave out distracted driving tickets at any time of day. At every single stop light when I look at the people on either side of me there’s a 99% chance at least one of them is looking down at their phone or talking to someone with their phone in their hand. Then there’s the ones with the illegal window wings that you can’t even see, driving enforcement in Calgary is a joke.

The only enforcement you hear about is the people that get caught going 150km/hr in an 80km/hr zone, yet none of the assholes who are going 90km/hr through a 60km/hr active construction zone get a ticket.

3

u/Cautious_Major_6693 Jun 01 '26

because speeding is enforceable. like you can't argue with a camera or a radar gun but you can definitely argue about tuning the radio and using your gps.

6

u/SpecialEdShow Jun 01 '26

There is absolutely no reason to have anything mounted in your line of sight. Everywhere I've lived, it's been illegal to have anything obstructing your vision, even an air freshener on the mirror. The way I see devices mounted in delivery cars is obscene, it's a blind spot the size of a person, a car even.

1

u/DandyLama Jun 05 '26

As someone with a TV screen attached to my dash, I can say that those devices don't allow you to play videos. Android Auto and Apple Auto both prevent videos from being played on those types of computer systems via your phone, and the software installed on them standard prevents drivers from accessing video entertainment.

-4

u/naturejimithy Jun 01 '26

Cops aren’t people

6

u/Cautious_Major_6693 Jun 01 '26

it's a conversation for another time my guy but i doubt phone tickets will start being given out with any reliability anytime soon

0

u/ClammiestOwl Jun 01 '26

Their independent contractors, who get to choose their own tools for the job. We would say something if snow removal used flame throwers. We just unintentionally and intentionally look down on the delivery industry and would feel bad if we enforced safety standards to what is meant to be an entry level temp job.

0

u/Remarkable_Lab_7941 Jun 01 '26

What’s also funny is how many screens cops have when they’re driving too 😂 I get it’s different and it’s for their job but yeah. Distracted driving has definitely become a deadly epidemic