FILE PHOTO
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/RCMP
May 19, 2020 - 3:29 PM
There were no fatal collisions on B.C. highways over the Victoria Day long weekend, which is unusual in itself, but there were also likely a record number of vehicles impounded for excessive speeding.
The RCMP highway patrol seized 150 vehicles for travelling more than 40 km/h over the posted speed limit outside of B.C. cities during the May long weekend from May 16 to 18.
Of those 150 seizures, 57 were in the Southeast District that includes Kamloops and the Okanagan. The total does not include any seizures by police within individual cities.
“It’s anecdotal but we’re hearing from our unit commanders – provincial traffic officers – saying this is crazy, we haven’t seen this kind of thing before,” Cpl. Mike Halskov, media relations officer for B.C. RCMP’s traffic services, told iNFOnews.ca today, May 19. “When you have people who have been doing enforcement in some of these areas for many years, my ears perk up.”
Most of those vehicle seizures were for seven days but one man was stopped twice within four hours so his second vehicle was seized for 30 days, Halskov said.
He was stopped, initially, for driving 130 km/h in a residential zone in the Lower Mainland and a second time speeding at 160 km/h on Highway 1 near Chilliwack.
On the flip side, there were no traffic deaths recorded in the province over the weekend.
Halskov doesn’t recall that happening on any other long weekend during his three years in media relations. He hasn’t heard of any traffic deaths within municipal boundaries, other than one possible death on private property near Quesnel.
Traffic volumes are still down from normal due to COVID-19 but open highways are no excuse for excessive speeding, he said.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Rob Munro or call 250-808-0143 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.
News from © iNFOnews, 2020