Southern Alberta man gets bigger fine after 13th distracted driving conviction

A motorist in southern Alberta has been convicted of distracted driving for the 13th time.

The 40-year-old man appeared in Airdrie provincial court Tuesday after receiving a mandatory summons and was fined $2,000 in addition to the $300 ticket.

Distracted driving became illegal in the province on Sept. 1, 2011, and the man received his first ticket for distracted driving on the same day.

Since then, he has paid a total of $7,655 in fines for the 13 offences.

Sgt. Darrin Turnbull says the RCMP wanted to bring attention to this case to make Albertans aware of how much these penalties can add up.

The RCMP says distracted driving is the main cause of more than 20 per cent of all collisions and distracted drivers are three times more likely than attentive drivers to be involved in a collision.