Speeding Tickets on Forest Service Road Upheld

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 10:27 AM

Chetwynd, B.C.- Three radar tickets issued to speeding drivers on the Sukunka Forest Service Road as part of a road safety operation near Chetwynd have been upheld in provincial court.

Ministry of Forests and Range officials issued six violation tickets while conducting radar speed enforcement to improve safety on the narrow, winding and mostly single-lane road near Chetwynd in October of
2007. The tickets were issued under the Forest Service Road Use Regulation, and carried a fine of $86.

Three of the tickets were contested, marking the first time a ministry-issued radar speed-enforcement ticket on a Forest Service road had been challenged. The tickets were upheld by a justice of the peace at a
hearing in Chetwynd in April 2009. The justice of the peace was satisfied that the officials were suitably trained, the equipment was functioning properly, and that the ticketed vehicles were the vehicles
measured by the radar equipment. The officials were certified in radar operation and used radar equipment recommended by the RCMP.

The ministry announced a provincewide expansion of radar speed-enforcement on Forest Service roads in January of this year as part of a series of initiatives to improve safety on Forest Service roads.

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Posted on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 10:27 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: acrider54 on July 14 2009 11:52 AM

Cops everywhere for everything

Posted by: Maverick on July 14 2009 11:59 AM

Good thing considering the number of deaths on the forest service roads.

Posted by: mackbc on July 14 2009 12:33 PM

So unless I missed something in the artical what is the speed limit on a forest service road ,can't say I have ever seen a speed sign on the roads around Mackenzie

Posted by: borneo60 on July 14 2009 12:40 PM

speed limits if unposted within the town limits or district is usually 50Kmh, unless posted otherwise.

I have seen logging trucks doing over 80 kmh in the forestry rds in Mack and this is winter time!!!

Posted by: gus on July 14 2009 1:26 PM

Speed limit on forest service roads is 80kmh unless otherwise posted.
http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/TASB/LEGSREGS/ARCHIVE/FPC/FPCAREGS/FSROADUS/FSRUR.HTM#4

Posted by: Eagleone on July 15 2009 4:14 AM

I don't agree with this. Its wrong to have traffic cops in the bush too.

Posted by: gus on July 15 2009 8:31 AM

Obviously you do not drive in the bush.

Forest service roads are actually highways under several acts of parliament.

The are not patrolled by the RCMP because they do not have the manpower. Other "special constables", however, can ticket, including conservation officers and others. That is what this case was all about, the fact that the tickets were issued by someone other than the police.

Read a few RCMP/WorkSafeBC/Coroner reports on the accidents on such roads. One could easily make a case against the government and or companies re[posnible for maintaining the roads for inaction based on information in some of the cases.

Posted by: thereasonableman on July 15 2009 10:02 AM

Some bush roads are busier than some local highways. Some people think because it is a dirt road, that it is licence to throw away your licence.

Most people don't want to meet one of those idiots, and eventually several complaints are made due to the repetitive nature of the speeding and the danger involved. Eventually, something has to be done about it.

Usually, these are bush roads that many people travel on to go to and from a worksite every day from their home in town.

Leave late for work, and make up the time on the 45 km of bush road that you have to travel, knowing you will not get ticketed on a bush road....or will you ?

Police have attended many accidents on resource roads due to reckless driving, as well as many altercations where people tried to "modify the behavior" themselves.

A little research will tell you that the Sukunka FSR leads to several oil and gas operations, forestry operations, as well as a coal operation. Many of those people are travelling every day from Chetwynd and Tumbler Ridge.