B.C. residents are continuing to drive without their seatbelts and take part in distracted driving, compared to numbers from a year ago, according to BC RCMP.
On Wednesday, April 8, the RCMP released its numbers from its Occupant Restraint and Distracted Driving campaigns that took place throughout March.
Overall, the amount of distracted drivers and drivers not wearing their seatbelts is slightly down. This March, 2,722 British Columbians were caught distracted driving, compared to 2,738 in March 2025.
For seatbelt violations, 775 people, including 22 children were found to not be wearing a seatbelt. In 2025, 821, including 51 children were caught not wearing a seatbelt.
“When you consider staffing changes, different enforcement techniques, weather and other factors, these numbers are essentially flat,” said BC Highway Patrol Cpl. Michael McLaughlin. “Having said that, you can look around and see that too many people are still using their phones while driving. And why some people can’t bring themselves to use their seatbelt remains a mystery.”
For the recent numbers, Central B.C, which includes Kelowna, Merritt, Kamloops, and Clearwater led the way in both violations. The RCMP broke the numbers down by all regions:
| Region | Seatbelt/Restraint Tickets | Electronic Device Tickets |
| Northern B.C. (including most communities north of 100 Mile House) | 148 | 100 |
| Central B.C. (including Merritt, Kelowna, Kamloops, Clearwater) | 268 | 1,008 |
| Kootenay region (including Revelstoke, Nelson, Cranbrook, Golden) | 57 | 142 |
| Vancouver Island | 89 | 241 |
| South Coast (including Metro Vancouver, Sea to Sky country, the Fraser Valley) | 138 (22 children) | 822 |
| Special Traffic Operations (throughout B.C.) | 75 | 409 |
| Totals | 775 | 2,722 |
Central B.C. has the biggest improvement in seatbelt tickets with 268, compared to 300 last March. Metro Vancouver drastically got worse, up 219 distracted driving tickets from last year.
Northern B.C. was the only region where seatbelt numbers worsened – 148 in 2026 compared to 111 in 2025. However, the region also saw the most improvement among distracted drivers – 100 in 2026 compared to 153 a year ago.
“Distracted driving is still one of the top three things that can kill you on B.C. roads, along with speed and impairment, and seatbelts are just such an easy way to save lives in collisions,” added McLaughlin. “As long as they continue to be problems, we will continue to educate through enforcement.”