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TORONTO – Drivers in Alberta could soon face increased fines and three demerit points as penalties for distracted driving.

Bill 204, a private member’s bill put forward by MLA Moe Amery, received widespread support in its second reading in the legislature Monday afternoon. If it passes, it would see the fine for distracted driving increase to $250 from $172—the fine set in Sept. 2011. It would also include three demerit points for each distracted driving offence.

Amery introduced the bill in December saying the current deterrent wasn’t enough.

“Driving errors are a factor in 87 per cent of total collisions in Alberta,” said Amery during the reading of the bill Monday. “Texting takes your eyes off the road for 4.6 seconds…No Albertans should be put at risk because of careless distracted drivers.”

“Drivers who are texting are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash event compared to non-distracted drivers.” Tweet This

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READ MORE: Alberta MLA wants to beef up distracted driving penalty

Minister of Transportation Wayne Drysdale said a combination of education and enforcement was needed to combat distracted driving.

“Any injury or fatality on our roads is something I take very seriously,” said Drysdale. “I’ll be voting in support of this bill and I urge all my honourable colleagues to do the same.”

Since the introduction of the legislation three-and-a-half years ago, there have been calls to make it tougher. The province recently conducted a survey asking Albertans their thoughts on the legislation.

Alberta’s Justice Minister Jonathan Denis said Wednesday he’s spoken with local police agencies and demerit points are something they “want to pursue.”

“I have talked to many government members and a lot of government members think that it’s time that we do this,” said Denis on Wednesday . “We are now the only province that doesn’t have distracted driving demerits.”

His comments came after the minister met with Renaye Wade, a woman who was hit by a distracted driver two years ago. Wade was left in a coma for 34 days, with a brain injury, broken pelvis, tailbone and jaw. Wade brought her message that tougher penalties need to be in place to the legislature Wednesday.

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NDP Leader Rachel Notley said during debate on Monday that though she’s in support of the bill, it’s taking Alberta “from dead last to almost the middle of the pack” compared to penalties in other Canadian provinces.

“That being said, we’re pleased to at least support this first step…[because] we understand traffic injuries and fatalities go up dramatically with distracted driving,” said Notley. “We would urge this government to move towards adopting this legislation or a more stringent version of it.”

There were 25,913 convictions for distracted driving in Alberta last year. Of those, 96 per cent were for using a hand-held electronic device while driving.

READ MORE: Alberta’s distracted driving legislation not changing driver habits: RCMP

With files from Emily Mertz and Caley Ramsay

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