Why this photo taken in Kamloops is going viral
A photo of what appears to be a police officer blocking a runaway lane in Kamloops was shared thousands of times online this week.
It appears to have been first posted on social media July 20, showing an RCMP cruiser in front of the lane along Highway 1 near Peterson Creek. While everyone can draw an obvious conclusion, it's not clear why the cruiser was there — and police have declined all opportunities to explain.
Runaway lanes, however, are an essential safety tool for large commercial vehicles unable to stop.
BC hosts many long, steep descents on its highway routes and truckers often use engine brakes to slow down and save their brakes. But they can overheat and fail, which is why BC has runaway lanes with soft gravel to slow the trucks.
While it's not clear why the officer was there, drivers caught blocking the lanes can risk a fine because of the obvious danger.
READ MORE: iN VIDEO: Trucker involved in reckless driving incident north of Kamloops avoids punishment
"Runaway lanes are very important for obvious reasons. It is absolutely an offence under the BC Motor Vehicle Act to block a runaway lane," BC Highway Patrol spokesperson Cpl. Mike Moore said in an emailed statement.
READ MORE: Kamloops realtor fined $20K for taking swig of milk from seller's fridge
Emergency vehicles are exempt from most traffic laws, but would depend on their duties at the time and should still take public safety into account.
Kamloops RCMP did not respond to questions from iNFOnews.ca about the photo.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.
