During last year’s May long weekend the RCMP handed out 1,034 speeding tickets to drivers going above the posted limit on B.C.’s highways – and of those 143 were ticketed for excessive speed.

“This weekend may be the traditional start of vacation season, but it is also the start of our summer enforcement season,” warned Cst. Melissa Wutke, spokesperson for the BC RCMP Traffic Service.

Speed is still the leading cause of car crash fatalities in B.C.,” she said, “and speed is involved in 94 deaths, on average, across B.C. each year.”

Cst. Wutke noted that those 143 vehicles which were speeding excessively last May long weekend, would have been impounded by police for seven days – and that a tow lot was probably not the destination most drivers had in mind.

While speed is always a focus for police, they will be watching for other risky driving behaviours – appropriate as this long weekend does fall during national Road Safety Week.

On the 2016 May long weekend, RCMP handed out the following infractions on B.C. highways:

– 113 alcohol and drug infractions, including 45 drivers who were handed 90-day IRPs (Immediate Roadside Prohibitions) for failing a roadside impaired driving test;

– 76 violation tickets for use of an electronic device (distracted driving);

– 34 tickets for unsafe passing.

“We want the motoring public to get to their destination safely,” said Cst. Wutke. “And if that takes handing out a few tickets, to help the public get the message, it’s worthwhile because we know our enforcement efforts will literally help save lives.”

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