Long Weekend Drivers Not Getting the Message
Tuesday, July 2, 2013 @ 10:51 AM
Prince George, B.C.- RCMP North District Traffic Services say long weekend traffic volumes weren’t a heavy as they have been in the past, but there were still 350 violations.“There were 17 alcohol or drug impairment related offences” says Corporal Madonna Saunderson. Those violations resulted in the impoundment of vehicles from 7 to 30 days.
In addition, Cpl. Saunderson says 6 vehicles were impounded because of excessive speeding “Those vehicles were being driven at speeds at least 41 kilometers over the posted limit, plus there was one stunting charge laid”.
Corporal Saunderson says there are still plenty of drivers who are not paying attention to the rules about slowing down and moving over when an emergency vehicle is on the side of the road. “One of our members told me he was nearly hit twice by vehicles that were zooming past as he dealt with another driver.”
The “Slow Down and Move Over” law requires drivers on a highway where the limit is 80 km per hour or more, to reduce their speed to 70 and, if at all possible, move over as they pass the emergency vehicle that has its lights flashing.
On roadways where the maximum limit is under 80km per hour, drivers are to slow down to 40km/h. These speed reductions apply to vehicles travelling in the opposite direction as well, unless the highway is divided or has more than one lane in each direction. Violators are subject to a fine of $173 and 3 penalty points. Criminal Code charges could also be considered depending on seriousness of the incident.
Comments
Where do the brains go when a driver puts a policeman doing a road check in peril. These fine folks are protecting us, and some stupid people among us just don’t get it.
I wonder how they do roadside checks for drugs? Anyone know?
Yah. Sir, blow in to my marijuandometer here and giver til I say stop.
Sorry, couldn’t pass up on that one LOL.
yep, came across the poor guy that was pulled over on the side of the road. tow truck was there, obvious he is going to have a memorable july 1st.
The traffic all slowed down for the copper. I slowed down to about 40, didn’t know it was 70 for the highway. no wonder the guys behind me were on my bumper.
its a whole new world out there, its no longer acceptable excuse to be having a few and hitting the road home. I like this new world. Kind of silly to speed on the long weekend, yet still people pass me when I’m doing 105. its a line up of cars for as far as you can see. why!
You know, who should be fined are those who are doing 75km/hr in a 100 zone. those are the people that causes accidents. too many frustrated drivers wanting too pass, and stupid risks are taken. If your driving slow because of your load, pull over and relieve the traffic back up, save another driver and your life. if your tired, pull over and take a nap.
To check for pot use they offer Doritos :)
I was at west lake with my lady on Saturday and lots where drinking even though the cops were driving through the parking lot on several occasions..
You can’t fix stupid.
Driving to slow carries the same penalty points as driving to fast. A lot of slow drivers may not know this. Never let a line up build behind you it is dangerous for everyone involved. To many drivers speed up when a passing lane appears, this is just plain stupidity.
“To many drivers speed up when a passing lane appears, this is just plain stupidity.”
I believe this is my #1 complaint on the highway.
My #2 complaint is drivers who go between 90 and 105 in a 100 km/h zone. They cannot maintain a steady speed. Which means I cannot use my cruise control if I stay behind them. Those are also quite often the drivers who speed up in a section which has a passing lane, and often to 115 and even 120.
My #3 complaint is slow vehicles (typically transport trucks) who want to pass a slower vehicle, get out first when the passing lane section arrives, take too long to pass, and the other several smaller and faster vehicles behind them end up not being able to pass the truck.
My #4 complaint – the transport truckers are getting worse with their driving habits.
The less passing lanes the better! That means four lane highways! We have highway 97 and highway 16 as our only two main east to west and south to north arteries! Perhaps we should look back a little and ask ourselves how and why we neglected to complete these only two main highways during the last four or five decades by tackling 20 or thirty miles EVERY year, year after year! They would be completed by now!
We did not so we have to put up with what we have!
All boils down to lack of courtesy on everyone’s part. Imagine a world where I drive 105, you want to drive 120. You come up behind me and stay a safe distance because you respect I have the right to drive near the limit. I, on the other hand, when I see a safe place, signal, slow, move over, and make it easier for you to pass, because I respect that you want to go faster than me. But that’s not the reality unfortunately, and 90% of our driving frustrations come from lack of courtesy.
Two lane highways helps, but not a complete solution. Even now going down the Hart people stick to the inside lane rather than pull over. That’s an interesting scenario because it’s caused by lack of courtesy. You’ll notice they are usually older drivers, and they eventually turn left, way down the road. But they’ve learned, that if they are in the outside lane, and need to do a lane change, no one might let them in, so they get into their lane as early as they can, and piss everyone off. But if people would let people change lanes, they would probably stay in the outside lane until they need to be in the inside lane – again – lack of courtesy on everyone’s part.
BTW – parts of HWY 1 in the lower mainland are now 3 lanes, and still got throttled traffic flow.
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