BC Police Officers honored for their commitment to enforcing distracted driving laws in 2022

B.C., BC Highway Patrol

2023-10-23 08:00 PDT

One Hundred police officers across the province were recently honored for their exemplary efforts to enforce distracted driving laws in 2022. Distracted driving is a leading cause of fatal and serious injury motor vehicle collisions in British Columbia and is completely preventable. On average, distraction is a factor in 77 deaths each year* on BC roadways.

One such incident occurred on December 3, 2013, on the Lion’s Gate Bridge in North Vancouver. Paula Pepin and Etienne Morin were crossing the bridge on their way to work when an oncoming vehicle suddenly swerved into their lane, striking their vehicle head-on. Morin suffered a major concussion and Pepin, who was pregnant at the time, lost their unborn child. A subsequent police investigation revealed distracted driving by the other driver to be a contributing factor to the crash.

As September was distracted driving awareness month in BC, Pepin and Morin are advocating for awareness surrounding distracted driving. Pepin and Morin are hopeful that by sharing their story, they can raise awareness, make motorists take a closer look at their own driving habits and potentially avoid the type of catastrophic crash that they experienced.

Collectively, the top 100 police officers in BC wrote a combined total of 16,787 violation tickets for distracted driving in 2022, with the top 10 officers writing 4,518 distracted driving tickets alone. The top 10 were awarded with a framed certificate of recognition signed by both the CEO of ICBC and the Chief Superintendent of BC Highway Patrol. All 100 officers also received a custom-made coin recognizing their efforts in enforcing distracted driving laws in 2022.

Constable Troy Collins of BC Highway Patrol – Chilliwack recently met with Pepin to receive his framed certificate for stopping 835 distracted drivers in 2022. This is the highest number attributed to a single officer in BC for the year.

Cst. Troy Collins and Paula Pepin display the framed award as they shake hands

BC Highway Patrol would like to remind all motorists to leave their electronic devices alone while driving to keep themselves, their loved ones, and others safe as we move through the fall and with children being back in school.

*Source: ICBC 5-year average (2017-2021)

BC Highway Patrol