A total of 11 people have died from distracted driving in Ontario already this year, compared to four last year.
The OPP released the numbers following their distracted driving campaign over March Break.
Over 2,400 distracted driving charges were laid during the campaign. That’s up from the 1,700 that were laid last year during the same week.
Sergeant Kerry Schmidt says police are doing all they can to curb distracted driving, but some responsibility falls on passengers as well. Schmidt says passengers need to tell drivers they will not ride with them if they are driving distracted. Schmidt adds that a way to possibly reduce distracted driving is to make the dangerous habit socially unacceptable, making drivers feel awkward or embarrassed for using their devices.
Schmidt says drivers know the rules of the road but still chose to drive distracted.