Repeat distracted driving blitz leads to 108 charges

It worked so well the first time, Thunder Bay Police thought they’d try it again.

On Wednesday officers were back at the James Street Swing Bridge looking for distracted drivers and other infractions.

Less than a week after a joint operation with railroad police resulted in 37 tickets being handed out, police in five hours surprised 108 drivers who earned fines for their scofflaw ways.

The sting involved Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railway officers posing as construction workers on the bridge, who in reality were on the lookout for infractions.

Upon spotting one, they directed the driver in question across the bridge into the waiting hands of Thunder Bay Police, who had more than a dozen officers and recruits on their way to the Ontario Police College waiting to hand out tickets.

Fifteen tickets for cell phone and texting violations were written. Police also caught 53 people not wearing their seat belt and gave out four speeding tickets. Five of the seat belt tickets involved children.

Three drivers were cited for driving while suspended.

“Distracted driving is a continuing challenge for the police. Heightened enforcement efforts will continue, especially as kids return back to school,” said Thunder Bay Police traffic Sgt. Glenn Porter in a release.