Increased fines and demerit points won’t stop distracted driving, but criminal charges will, says one broker.
“Make it criminal,” is the simple answer from Domenic Guida, president of Signature Insurance Brokers in Woodbridge, Ont. “I am frustrated by the constant reference by journalists and even members of the Liberal government to demerit points as some panacea for the problem of distracted driving.
“I hear people talk on the radio on this subject – even the (provincial) minister; he has no clue,” Guide told Insurance Business. “Demerit points will not change anything. The ticket is always there; they just have to make it minor, major or criminal.”
It is the attachment of a criminal charge to impaired driving that has been largely attributed to the decrease in impaired driving on the nation’s roads, underlining the seriousness of the government and law enforcement to curb what is now considered socially unacceptable behaviour.
An Ontario court recently doubled the fines for distracted driving, a problem that statistically has contributed to more accidents than impaired driving. Although the Transportation Minister Glen Murray said that the government applauds the increase in fines and may consider applying demerit points to distracted driving, Guida feels that people in general don’t view demerit points as a deterrent. In fact, drivers are mostly unaware of the fact that any driving ticket conviction affects their insurance premium. (continued.)
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“People will go fight a ticket, and it will get reduced – but it has the same effect (on their insurance),” he says. “People are misled into thinking they’ve saved the points on their insurance, and their policy won’t be affected. I think in my 30 years only maybe two people I know of have lost their license due to demerit points. In my opinion, demerit points have no direct effect on insurance rating.”
It was Chief Justice Annemarie Bonkalo of the Ontario Court of Justice who signed the order increasing the set fine to $225 from $125 starting March 18 – which means drivers would face a fine of $280, including surcharges.
