Airdrie Residents Need to Keep their Eyes on the Roads

When it comes to distracted drivers, Airdrie has more than its fair share of them. In July, 8 groups partnered up with the Alberta Motor Association to see just how many people were driving distracted. According to the president of Airdrie Citizens on Patrol, Ennio Ricci, Airdrie was at the top of the list.

Drivers in Airdrie had a 14.5% distraction rate while the overall number for the province was only 2.4%. More than 90% of the distractions were due to cell phone use. Approximately half of the drivers were texting while the other half were talking on their phones.

Volunteers from COP observed a total of 1,223 vehicles in July on 3 separate occasions. The data shows that 6.9% of the motorists were driving and talking on their handheld phones while 6.5% were either texting or using their cell phones in various other ways.

The average for Alberta is 0.71% in terms of texting and 1.29% in terms of talking and driving. As you can see by the numbers listed above, Airdrie residents are much more distracted overall than other drivers in the province.

During the observation that took place in the summer, 1% of the drivers in Airdrie were distracted in other ways that included the following:

• Writing or reading
• Grooming
• Driving with a pet on the driver's lap
• Eating with both hands
• Cleaning their vehicles

Airdrie residents can be proud, however, of the new numbers that have come out regarding driving habits around school zones. During the summer motorists were more likely to speed through these zones but once school started drivers started to slow down.