Brandon Police use Star Trek meme to draw attention to distracted driving
Police force hands out 100 distracted driving tickets during April enforcement blitz
It was the Manitoba police force that described suspects in an April fraud investigation as good-looking and now they are turning heads again online - this time for a meme drawing attention to distracted driving.
The Brandon Police Force tweeted a meme of Captain Picard from Star Trek with his palm over his face with text that read 'C'mon man, 100 cellphone tickets?! In a month?!' on Monday morning.
April Distracted Driving STEP - 100 TICKETS ISSUED FOR CELL PHONE USE <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/notgoodpeople?src=hash">#notgoodpeople</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/distracteddrivingkills?src=hash">#distracteddrivingkills</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bdnmb?src=hash">#bdnmb</a> <a href="https://t.co/FvXQYV6SrD">pic.twitter.com/FvXQYV6SrD</a>
—@BrandonPoliceThe meme was to draw attention to statistics that were released by Brandon police Monday from an enforcement blitz to mark distracted driving awareness month.
- Brandon police release photo of 'good-looking' fraud suspect
- Arrests made in Brandon credit card fraud case involving 'good-looking' guy
During the month, police in the western Manitoba city issued 168 tickets, of which 100 were for cellphone use in vehicles, according to Brandon Police.
The remainder of the tickets were for various Highway Traffic Act offences, police said in a news release.
Police forces use memes, videos, rap battles across Canada
The Brandon Police Force is the latest police agency to use memes and videos to make people think about bad habits on the road.
RCMP in Nova Scotia released their own version of Drake's 'Hotline Bling' in April called 'Cop Light Bling' highlighting legislation requiring drivers to slow down and move over when emergency vehicles are parked at the side of a road.
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RCMPNS?src=hash">#RCMPNS</a> releases music video spotlighting <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MoveOver?src=hash">#MoveOver</a> legislation. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CopLightBling?src=hash">#CopLightBling</a> <a href="https://t.co/nqQmhVs3ST">https://t.co/nqQmhVs3ST</a> <a href="https://t.co/z7FK8oCyfq">pic.twitter.com/z7FK8oCyfq</a>
—@RCMPNSThe video had nearly 600,000 views on YouTube as of Monday afternoon.
And Winnipeg Police joined a winter driving rap battle last year with a 'Salt N Pepa' parody. The battle started with a challenge by RCMP in Kindersley, Sask. last November. Police forces in Regina, Calgary and Edmonton were also among those that joined the battle.
Monday's meme isn't the first the Brandon Police service has used.
They also tweeted a meme to draw attention to slippery streets one winter morning in January.
Couple of minor collisions in the city this morning. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/winterdrivingskills?src=hash">#winterdrivingskills</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/belikebill?src=hash">#belikebill</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/bdnmb?src=hash">#bdnmb</a> <a href="https://t.co/XdTWwjLSj4">pic.twitter.com/XdTWwjLSj4</a>
—@BrandonPoliceDistracted driving carries a penalty of $200 and five demerits in Manitoba.
with files from CBC News