Ontario police are spending the long weekend scanning the roads for distracted drivers.
Provincial police launched the traffic blitz in King City, north of Toronto, ahead of the Labour Day weekend. They issued a reminder to the public that they're enforcing new legislation that came into effect on Tuesday.
As of Sept. 1, anyone caught texting, checking email, dialing or holding a phone will face a set fine of $490, and three demerit points. Those who choose to fight the fine may be charged $1,000 upon conviction for inattentive driving.
"Police are serious about this deadly driving practice, and the OPP is hopeful that higher fines will help reduce the number of distracted driving-related deaths and collisions on Ontario roads," police said in a statement.
In 2015, there have been 41 deaths attributed to distracted driving on OPP-patrolled roads. The number of collisions caused by distracted drivers is up 20 per cent compared to this time last year, police said.
Earlier this week, a statement from the Ministry of Transportation warned that fatalities from distracted driving may exceed those from drinking and driving by 2016.
