VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The province doesn’t seem convinced high distracted driving fines will get you to put down your phone behind the wheel.

Transportation Minister Todd Stone understands the frustration, but they want to get it right. “While I appreciate, as the solicitor general does, that there is some frustration out there about the length of time it is taking for us to move on this. I think once people see the changes we are going to be proposing people will understand that it was worth the wait.”

“Penalties that we impose here actually end up changing behaviour so simply looking at an increase to the fine is not necessarily going to directly correlate to changing people’s behaviours,” he adds.

BC has the second lowest distracted driving fines in Canada at $167 per ticket. In Ontario, a ticket will cost you up to $1,000.