THURSDAY MARCH 28, 2019 AAAAAUAUAUTOTOTOPRPRPROOOOO OOOAOAOAKVKVKVILILIL EELELELE 2212212 2 W2 yecroft Road, Oakvkvillilleee 905-469-24422 autoprooakville.mechanicnet.com MECHANICAL SERVICES Michelle Cooper Insurance & Financial Services 905-826-4900 www.michellecooper.ca Get a quote Bundle your home and auto for better savings dentistoakville.com 905-842-6030 SAUNDERS, SAXTON & WINTER Wendy Saunders Sales Representative Kim Saxton Sales Representative Ruth AnneWinter Broker ~ALegacy of Excellence~ 136 Church Street, Suite 1A - Oakville, ON | 905.845.1223 sswteam.ca | sswteam@johnstonanddaniel.com 4141 Derry RoadWest - $2,299,000 136 Church Street, Suite 4A - Oakville, ON | 905.845.1223 2470Trevor Drive | Oakville • $1,049,900 Visit for breaking news and more events! Const. Marc Taraso was hop- ing he wasn't going to be busy. It was New Year's Day and since the majority of the tickets he issues as a member of Halton regional police's regional response unit are for distracted driving, he hoped the stiffer penalties that were kicking in that day would discourage drivers from picking up their phones. He had driven just four kilo- metres from the station before he pulled up beside an SUV stopped at a red light. He watched as the driver, who had two young kids in the back seat, picked up her phone and read a text message for about 10 seconds. Eight minutes after starting his shift, Taraso was handing out his first distracted driving ticket of the year. The driver, who a day TOUGHER DISTRACTED DRIVING PENALTIES FINALLY HAVING AN IMPACT HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@metroland.com See DISTRACTED, page 3 The number of tickets for distracted driving in Halton have dropped by almost 50 per cent since stiffer penalties came into effect Jan. 1. That would indicate people are keeping their phones out of their hands, but a Halton officer tasked with traffic safety said too many people are still willing to take the risk. Cst. Marc Taraso said it is not uncommon for him to issue as many as 10 distracted driving tickets during a 12-hour shift. Courtesy: Cst. Marc Taraso/Twitter VISIT /REGISTER TO SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM INSIDEHALTON.COM