iN NUMBERS: Okanagan drivers got the most tickets in a dangerous driving crackdown

If there was a competition for who could get the most traffic tickets, drivers in the Okanagan would win every time.

Members of the RCMP’s BC Highway Patrol cracked down on bad drivers throughout the province in March. We aren’t sure if Okanagan drivers aren’t getting the message about driving and using a phone, or if the cops in the valley are more aggressive in handing out tickets than their counterparts elsewhere in the province.

“Many of these distracted driving tickets were written for people using the highway system, not merely those stopped at intersections,” Supt. Mike Coyle with BC Highway Patrol said in a press release. “These numbers prove two things: One, we need to do better. Two, everyone in BC is paying the consequences of collisions that come from high-risk driving behaviours.”

Here are the numbers from the BC Highway Patrol’s crackdown and stats from Kelowna RCMP:

• 2,800: Tickets written for distracted driving in BC.
• 1,036: Of those tickets were written in the Central and Okanagan region for using an electronic device. Okanagan drivers are the reigning champs of texting while driving.
• 300: Tickets for not wearing a seatbelt in the Okanagan. Why is this still a thing?
• 603: Tickets in the South Coast/Lower Mainland region for using an electronic device, a distant second place compared to the Okanagan.
• 368: The dollars a fine for distracted driving will set you back.
• 154: Tickets for speeding in a school zone in Kelowna so far this year.
• 167: The dollars you will be fined for not wearing a seatbelt. Again, why is this still a thing?
• 87: Tickets given to BC parents for not safely securing their kids.
• 5: Cars impounded for speeding in Kelowna so far this year.
• 1: Driver busted for a double whammy, drunk driving and talking on the phone at the same time.