Smithers RCMP and ICBC were in Smithers on Monday warning drivers about the dangers of distracted driving.
ICBC Road Safety and Community Coordinator, Doug MacDonald says distracted driving has become the second leading cause of death in car crashes.
He says speed is still the number one killer, distracted driving is number two, and impaired driving is number three.
“There are lots of other things we need to be watching out for, while we are driving. So being distracted, whether it be with an animal in your lap, putting on makeup, or the big one using your cell phone, you got to put those things away, you got to be paying attention to your driving because that is what is really important,” says MacDonald.
MacDonald said that in the hour they surveyed people on Highway 16 in Smithers 52 of them were driving distracted.
He said that that they noticed an increase from last year in the number of distracted drivers.
According to MacDonald distracted driving kills an average of 78 people a year in B.C. and approximately 13 of those people are from the Northern Region.
Throughout September ICBC is spreading awareness about distracted driving across the province.