The BC Highway Patrol says it issued 1,587 tickets for electronic device use while driving in September 2026, compared with 734 in September 2025.
The Story
The BC Highway Patrol (BCHP) says its September 2026 Distracted Driver and Occupant Restraint Campaign results show roughly double the number of violations compared with the same period in 2025.
BCHP reports that in September 2025, a total of 734 tickets were written across all regions of British Columbia for the use of an electronic device while driving. In September 2026, BCHP says it wrote 1,587 tickets for the same offence.
Each ticket for using an electronic device while driving carries a fine of $368. BCHP Supt. Lori Orstad said, “It’s easy to blame the driver next to you for their bad and unsafe decisions, but maybe it’s time to start looking in the mirror,” adding, “The numbers are way too high. We should be making better decisions behind the wheel or even as passengers.”
BCHP says ticket numbers for failing to wear a seatbelt were also about double between the two Septembers. It reports 456 tickets for failing to wear a seatbelt in September 2025, compared with 826 over the same period in 2026.
According to BCHP, its enforcement figures include both warnings and tickets, and warnings made up about 3 per cent of the total tickets issued.
← More stories