Texters and speeders keep Kelowna RCMP busy during enforcement blitz

KELOWNA – More than a dozen vehicles were towed from Kelowna roads yesterday for violating traffic laws.

Some of the offenders included excessive speeders and electronic device users, according to a news release from Kelowna RCMP.

The detachment's municipal traffic section, along with Central Okanagan Traffic Services, conducted a joint enforcement in Kelowna yesterday, Aug. 29. In roughly two hours, enforcement officers stopped 31 violators who were allegedly caught on their cell phones, not wearing seatbelts, or in many cases, speeding.

Const. Chris Neid of Central Okanagan traffic services says the top speed officers detected was 151 kilometres per hour in a 90 kilometre per hour zone.

"The driver of that particular vehicle was identified as a class 7 new driver, he was found to have an expired drivers licence and had been flagged by the motor vehicle branch to be served a three month prohibition from driving a motor vehicle," Neid says in the release. “As many as 13 of those 31 violators, stopped by police, had their vehicles towed from the roadway and impounded due to the excessive speeds they were observed travelling."

Officers moved enforecement locations and caught an additional 18 drivers in just over an hour, all of them caught using electronic devices behind the wheel.

Friday, Sept. 1, marks the first day of the month-long distracted drivers campaign and occupant restraint campaign throughout the province.

Kelowna RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jesse O'Donaghey says “the motoring public can once again expect to see these municipal and provincial RCMP traffic enforcement officers as they join forces to conduct a solid day of focussed enforcement in the Kelowna and Lake Country area.”

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