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Sentance takes top spot in distracted driving derby (3 photos)

Distracted driving causes as many deaths as drinking and driving, said CAA Niagara officials

Ken Sentance ran a stop sign Friday.

“I almost killed a dog,” he told ThoroldNews.

Pitted against other local politicians and CAA Niagara representatives, the Thorold city councillor managed to cross the five-lap finish line first, all while finding Humboldt on a map.

Others were tasked with taking a selfie, applying Chapstick, or looking for coins, while completing the simulated course on carts—loaned from Safari Niagara—or a tricycle.

For the second year, CAA hosted the distracted driving derby to raise awareness of how dangerous it can be when drivers multi-task at the wheel.

Staff chose the Seaway Mall parking lot—near their newest CAA office site—to host the derby, as a “fun way” to bring attention to how serious it can be when drivers do other things, said CAA Niagara’s CEO Peter Van Hezewyk.

“Thirty per cent of Niagara residents admit to driving with a mobile device,” he told ThoroldNews. “One in five accidents is caused by distracted drivers. There are as many people getting killed today (from distractions) as from drinking and driving.”

Recently, Van Hezewyk’s own wife was hit at a four-way stop in St. Catharines by a distracted driver who was reading a map.

“It’s serious, and it’s real.”

To host the event, CAA partnered with Safari Niagara, the Niagara Safety Village, and Aapex Driving School.

The safety campaign continues in the mall’s centre court Saturday, Aug. 31, when participants will be able to try on “cannabis goggles,” which “mimic being under the influence,” said organizers.


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Cathy Pelletier

About the Author: Cathy Pelletier

Cathy Pelletier is an award-winning newspaper journalist/editor who writes for ThoroldNews.com
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