Police

Information related to the police.

Am I Making a Difference?

Question MarkThis was a question that I asked myself more frequently as my time in traffic enforcement with the RCMP grew longer.  Everyone wants to do their job well, and mine was to encourage the motoring public to conform to the law in the hope that doing so would minimize the number of collisions in my patrol area.

Q&A - Is the Current Traffic Enforcement System Working?

Q&A ImageI was driving North bound on Hwy 97 approaching Summerland.  As usual I was passed by a speeding vehicle (I confess, I'm a "speeder" but I confine my illegal activity to 10 kph over)  So when I say a speeder, I'm not describing someone going 12 kph over a limit, while I'm travellling 2 kph under.  In the appropriete conditions (dry, light traffic, day time) if I say I'm passed by a speed

Towed for Excessive Speed Avoiding a Tailgater

Q&A ImageI received a excessive speeding ticket while on my motorcycle in June 2016. I stated to the police officer that I was attempting to elude a tailgater, which he did not see of course.

The tailgater positioned himself behind my bike 3 times in 3 kilometers before I sped off to go to a public venue with cameras should the tailgater cause me trouble.

Q&A - Tow for Unlicensed Scooter Justified?

Q&A ImageIt was necessary for me to move my 50cc scooter 3 miles from one storage location to another. It was daylight, the weather was good and there was no other traffic on the road at the time. I made an error of judgment and decided to make this move on my scooter without current tags since I would not be using it for several months. It did not occur to me to think about a day pass.

CASE LAW - R v Wong

BC Courts Coat of ArmsOne way of preparing for a traffic ticket dispute is to request disclosure from the officer who issued it. It was relatively rare to receive such a request but when one did appear the disputant often asked for everything, including the tread depth of the right rear tire on the police car. It was fairly clear that the request was based on advice found on the internet rather than obtained from a lawyer. Disclosing less than what was requested (but still reasonable in the circumstances) resulted in complaints to the justice at the hearing.

Q&A - IRSU & The Malahat Drive

Q&A ImageRather than try and tie together many comments in disparate places places around this site, I will make a topic here about the Capital Regional District Integrated Road Safety Unit (CRD IRSU) and the Malahat Drive portion of Highway 1 for user Phil:

I contacted the CRD IRSU via their Twitter account (@CRDIRSU) and learned the following about speed enforcement activity on the Malahat by them:

The Not-So-Professional Driver

Truck Tractor and TrailerI'm one of those odd drivers who tries their best to drive at or below the posted speed limit. I include the word below here as sometimes there is a need to slow down to less than the posted speed limit for safety reasons. This often has consequences for me when I have to share the road with other drivers who do not subscribe to my philosophy on road safety. A good example of this is looking in my rear view mirror and finding the Volvo logo on the grille of a heavy transport truck following me closely enough that I could count the bugs stuck to it.

VIEWPOINT - Police Should Educate Drivers

SoapboxYou may be interested in the number of distracted drivers nabbed by Comox Valley RCMP in a recent 5 day campaign. They caught 91 drivers including one who received 2 tickets in one day-likely the same bad habit as the lady in Vancouver with 14 tickets.

I commend the local RCMP for their ability to detect these distracted driver as I rarely notice them any more. Speeding drivers are much more obvious.