Vancouver driver had phone and tablet tied to steering wheel

The rigged up steering wheel entertainment systemImage copyright
Twitter/VPDTraffic

Image caption

The rigged up steering wheel entertainment system

A Canadian man took distracted driving to a new level by setting up his own entertainment system on his steering wheel with string.

He was caught when a traffic officer spotted him wearing headphones and noticed a tablet and mobile phone attached to the wheel.

The Vancouver Police Department’s traffic unit sent out an image of the setup on social media.

Police had “a lengthy conversation about road safety” with the driver.

“Just when I think I’ve seen everything, a photo like this is captured by one of our officers,” said Vancouver Constable Jason Doucette.

Earlier this month Vancouver police fined a driver who pulled up beside two officers while playing Pokémon Go.

The driver removed the devices on his steering wheel and drove away with an C$81 ($62; £48) ticket for not being able to produce his driver’s licence.

The traffic officer who pulled him over decided that educating the driver about the dangers of using the devices in his car would be most the effective approach and did not fine him for distracted driving.

A distracted driving ticket in British Columbia is set at $368.

Laws around using a phone while driving vary around the world.

In some countries, like Australia, France, Israel and Spain, they are banned outright, though penalties vary from fines to jail time, according to Cellular News.

All provinces across Canada have laws against distracted driving, most coming into effect in recent years. Fines range across the country from C$80 to $1200.