Excessive speeding has spiked 300 per cent in the North Okanagan

VERNON – As we ring in the New Year, the message from Vernon RCMP is keep the roads safer in 2015.

Traffic Services impounded 78 vehicles for excessive speeding in 2014, up 300 per cent from 25 in 2013.

“They (Traffic Services) just shake their head,” RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says.

The need for decreasing speed was a common refrain from RCMP last year, with several appeals put out asking drivers to slow down.

“We are concerned because when you start driving at those speeds, 40 km over the posted limit, you get involved in a crash, your chances of survival are very much diminished,” Molendyk says.

The excessive speeding checks were conducted predominantly on highways all the way from Cherryville to Enderby.

Molendyk can’t pinpoint the reason for the spike, but says the issue hasn’t been limited to one age group; young and old alike seem to have lead-foot syndrome. 

“Let’s keep safe out there for 2015,” Molendyk says.

The fine for excessive speeding is between $368-$483.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

—This story was edited at 6:30 a.m. Jan. 7 to correct an error saying traffic services impounded 78 vehicles in 2015, when it was in fact 2013. We apologize for the mistake.