Some future drivers got an idea Thursday of just how hard it is to text and drive at the same time with the help of a video-based simulator.
Between the touchy controls and the voice of an annoying passenger who refuses to wear his seatbelt, things were already difficult for the even the most experienced drivers, let alone a class of Grade 10 students from Nechako Valley Secondary School in Vanderhoof.
But once the smartphone popped up on the touch screen, all bets were off. Drivers were swerving off the road, going in the wrong direction and running into other vehicles. It was also a good thing the pedestrians and dogs were virtual rather than real.
Within five minutes, most drivers had too many strikes against them to carry on.
The lesson, said Insurance Corporation of B.C. road safety coordinator Diana Pozer, is simply don't text and drive. Refrain from turning the smartphone on while in your vehicle in the first place, or get a passenger to be the texter.
"Anything to avoid using your phone while you're driving," Pozer said.
The experience drove home that message for Isabella Hampson and Sadie Dupuis, both 15 years old and six months to a year away from becoming old enough to take the test for a learners licence.
"I'm not going to use my phone because that's just too hard," Hampson said.
Likewise, Dupuis said she discovered just how much damage can be done by someone who texts and drives at the same time. "The injuries that you can get," Dupuis said.
Distracted driving is the second leading cause of car crash fatalities in B.C. according to ICBC.
Those caught texting, e-mailing or holding a cellphone or other hand-held electronic device while driving are subject to a $167 fine and three penalty points. And drivers in the novice stage of the graduate licensing program must restart the 24-month novice period after getting their licence back.
Also drivers who endangers others because of any distraction, including using a hand-held or hands-free device, could be charged with careless driving under the Motor Vehicle Act, or even dangerous driving under the Criminal Code. Both charges carry heavy fines and penalties.
The simulator, which was set up in a conference room at University Hospital of Northern B.C., was brought in through the Preventing Alcohol and Risk Related Trauma in Youth (PARTY) program.
Put on by the Prince George Safe Attitudes and Actions Society, a volunteer group, the program typically includes a tour of the hospital's emergency department, morgue, intensive care unit and chapel with presentations from physicians, paramedics, nurses and injury survivors.
