Three strikes and you’re paying for it
KAMLOOPS – Mounties and community volunteers were out in full force on one of the city’s busiest roadways today, June 23, to remind people of the dangers and price of speeding.
Citizens on patrol are stationed near Guerin Creek Way off of Summit Drive to count the number of drivers going above the 60 kilometres per hour speed limit.
“The highest we’ve seen so far is 83 kilometres per hour,” Guy Ramsay, a volunteer with speed watch, says.
Cpl. Brian O’Callaghan, who manages the RCMP traffic unit, says Summit Drive is one of the city’s problem areas in terms of speeding. Today’s monitoring is a three-strike warning to drivers. The first warning is the posted speed limit, then the citizen’s on patrol digital speed reading. If drivers continue speeding towards the hairpin turn at the bottom of Summit, they’ll face strike three — a parked RCMP vehicle with an officer prepared to hand out tickets.
“We’ve had a few excessive speeders,” O’Callaghan says.
The price range for speeding tickets can range from $138 to $460. If a driver is caught speeding 40 km/h over the limit, they can be ticketed for excessive speeding which not only carries a heavy fine, but can also result in vehicle impoundment.
“We’re just out to educate the public,” Ramsay says. “Slow down; speed kills.”
He says volunteers will also be on the lookout for distracted driving and cell phone use. Drivers caught using cell phones will have their license plates recorded and will receive a letter in the mail.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Glynn Brothen at gbrothen@infonews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
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7 responses
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Here’s some more from ICBC itself:http://www.icbc.com/driver-licensing/tickets/Pages/fines-points-offences.aspxFail to yield passing vehicle. $109. 3. 157(2)(b). Increase speed while being passed. $109. 3. 158(1). Pass on right. $109. 2. 158(2)(a). Unsafe pass on right.Those are the actual statutes.I did the leg work for you so you wouldn’t have to look even more foolish in trying to call me out on laws you clearly know nothing about even though you live here?Man… I’m sorry.
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My bet about those in the left lane are already speeding and going any speed above that is just simply insane and those blowing by on the right in excess deserve a ticket.Those of us who “hog” the left lane are perfectly comfortable going anywhere from the speed limit to twenty over it as those in the slow lane are going below the speed limit as they are either turning off of the highway or onto it.Or, they are pulling a trailer or simply more comfortable going slower than the posted.Either way, I’m not dodging traffic just to suit a mass of people that want to go break neck speeds to their destination because they didn’t start earlier.If B.C. had center lanes on more of its highways, I’d likely drive there so those speed nuts could go 160, and I wouldn’t bear the responsibility of dodging the slower cars when I’m doing the limit at more of a reasonable level.Get mad if you wish, but I’ll argue my case that your road rage is the issue as my going the limit isn’t illegal.As for this particular stretch in Kamloops, they really should just drop the speed limit all together which I feel is the appropriate measure for all speed limits.They are a bit juvenile considering the obvious frustration, man power, and cost they absorb.And Lynn: I’ve been pulled twice for this and not ticketed once.I simply said, “I did nothing wrong as I was going 130, and if you seriously think I won’t bring it up to the judge that you refused to pull the truck ahead of me that was going well over in excess and wizzing in and out of other traffic as I have it recorded on my Go Pro cam, by all means give me a ticket for left lane hogging.”He said he’d give me a speeding ticket instead, and I said I had no problem with that, but he didn’t issue me a ticket for that, either.The fact is, speeding isn’t the issue, as my insurance and car payments you do not make, are the issue.If you want to force me into the right lane when I’m already doing what’s legal, you can start paying for the aforementioned.I’m sorry, but that’s the way it is until some subtle traffic changes, mostly in attitude, are made.I’m all for eliminating the speed limit laws as they do not make sense as traffic would naturally evolve in where it needs to flow rather than it be expected out of some dumb ass thing like “courtesy.”Until then, I’m going the speed limit or darn close to it because I don’t want to pay more to ICBC or more in fuel costs than I already do.
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Actually, passing on the right is perfectly valid. You may wish to educate yourself on the rules of the road before criticizing on what you know nothing about.
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Rick Morgan I don’t think I’ve *ever* seen anyone in the left lane doing even just the speed limit, let alone 15 under, on this particular stretch.
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The idiots holding the left lane doing 15 under may be the cause of more frustration and accidents than the speeding drivers.
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Seriously?With your logic I hope the opportunity arises for you, to be caught and ticked.Then you can tell the RCMP officer the same thing or better yet go to court to fight the ticket and tell a judge.
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Really? Probably the most unobstructed and the safest place in town to speed. I wonder what the accident frequency is on that stretch?
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