BC Highway Patrol officers issued nearly triple the number of tickets in September for distracted driving than they did in 2025 to drivers on Vancouver Island. (Image Credit: Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press)

By Alex Rawnsley

expensive month

‘Must be that personal exceptionalism:’ distracted driving increases three-fold on Island roads

Oct 9, 2026 | 6:13 AM

NANAIMO — A month-long campaign focusing on catching distracted drivers and those not wearing seatbelts has been depressingly productive for local police.

Members from BC Highway Patrol say they wrote 214 tickets for using an electronic device while driving on Vancouver Island alone through the month of September, up from 76 issued during the same period last year.

Sgt. Michael McLaughlin told NanaimoNewsNOW people are clearly not understanding how dangerous it can be, even with each offence carrying a $368 fine.

“We recognize that there is a problem, unfortunately, we were hoping the problem wasn’t as bad as it is. Even taking into account staffing increases or better enforcement on our part, there’s still a very concerning trend, and we think the driver behaviour is the biggest reason for this increase.”

Province-wide, 1,587 tickets were written for device usage while driving, over double the 734 issued in 2025.

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McLaughlin said drivers not wearing seatbelts was also a major issue, with 148 drivers fined $167 each through the month-long campaign, up from 79 motorists a year ago.

“There’s no reason people should still be avoiding their seatbelts or using their cell phones illegally while they’re driving. We’ve done lots of education on this, but clearly a lot of people still don’t feel the law applies to them. We’re going to have to keep doing enforcement, these are very concerning trends, and a lot of it just must be that personal exceptionalism.”

McLaughlin said the mentality of ‘the rules don’t apply to me’ is extremely strong among some motorists.

He added the fix is incredibly simple.

“Don’t even move [your vehicle] until that belt is on, and just put your phone out of reach. So many people are being tempted by that little addictive device, and it’s showing in these expensive tickets that we’re giving out to people on the roads.”

RCMP will continue to watch for distracted and unrestrained motorists through November, ahead of a major nationwide campaign in December focusing on impaired driving through the holiday season.

— with files from Jordan Davidson

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by Alex Rawnsley

‘Must be that personal exceptionalism:’ distracted driving increases three-fold on Island roads

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