Kelowna Municipal Traffic Services handed out dozens of tickets for driving dangerously through a school zone in a single day.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/RCMP
March 21, 2024 - 11:25 AM
Two separate police initiatives cracked down on bad drivers in Kelowna recently.
The RCMP's highway patrol conducted a provincewide Slow Down, Move Over campaign and found that Kelowna drivers led the province in disregard for emergency vehicles, according to a BC Highway Patrol press release issued today, March 21.
During the course of the campaign, officers issued more than 2,100 tickets and warnings, with 390 in Kelowna alone.
The next region with the most infractions was the Fraser Coast Integrated Road Safety Unit with 316.
Highway patrol officers initiated 20 criminal investigations during the campaign and seized a series of illegal items over the course of the campaign including a rifle, a loaded 9mm magazine, fentanyl, cocaine and steroids, along with illegal weed and cigarettes.
The fine for failing to slow down and move over for emergency vehicles is $173 and possible criminal charges if a worker is injured or killed.
“Although our educational campaign for ‘Slow Down, Move Over’ is over, our officers will be paying attention to motorists failing to slow down for official vehicles all year,” Cpl. Melissa Jongema with BC Highway Patrol said in the release. “Every roadside worker deserves to go home alive to their friends and families at the end of their workday. We need to see the 230 roadside worker fatalities decrease to zero, so please save lives by continuing to slow down and move over when you see roadside workers present."
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Image Credit: SUBMITTED/RCMP
On top of Kelowna drivers' disregard for emergency vehicles, Kelowna Municipal Traffic Services handed out dozens of tickets for driving dangerously through a school zone in a single day.
As part of ICBC’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month traffic services handed out 58 tickets on Friday, March 15, according to an RCMP press release.
Officers set up in the 2100 block of Enterprise Way and the intersection of Richter Street and Raymer Road where there's school zone.
Over the course of the day officers handed out 44 tickets for use of electronic devices while driving, 12 of those in a school zone, some no seat belt tickets, and 12 tickets for speeding in a school zone.
“It’s almost a bittersweet because I’m proud my team is catching these drivers and making our roads safer, yet this number of offenders especially in a school zone is simply unacceptable to everyone” Sgt. Colby Attlesey with Kelowna Municipal Traffic Services said in the release.
“Our message remains the same, please stay off your phones and be mindful of your speed at all times.”
The distracted driving initiative was separate from BC Highway Patrol’s campaign.
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