Our Sea to Sky Highway is at the top of a list no locals want to be on.
Over the May long weekend, RCMP’s BC Highway Patrol conducted a provincewide enforcement campaign, nicknamed Drive to Arrive.
Over the May long weekend, officers focused on stopping the top high-risk driving behaviours that often lead to serious injury and fatal crashes: excessive speeding, aggressive/dangerous driving, impaired driving, and distracted driving.
The goal, according to the RCMP, was “to send a clear message to drivers for the start of the summer season.”
Officers handed out 2,830 tickets and took 82 impaired drivers off B.C. highways.
Excessive speeders were charged, fined between $368 and $483, and had their vehicles impounded for seven days.
In a provincewide news release, the RCMP listed eight excessive speed highlights from B.C. highways over the weekend. Guess how many of those were from the Sea to Sky Corridor? Six out of the eight.
The RCMP spokesperson said the Top 6 out of this list were from our region:
• A Ferrari going 143 km/hour in a posted 80 km/hour zone;
• A Chrysler 300 travelling at 128 km/hour in a 60 km/hour zone;
• A Volkswagen Touareg operating 136 km/hour in an 80 km/hour zone;
• Two Teslas travelling at 160 km/hour and 165 km/hour in a 90 km/hour zone;
• A Ford F150 travelling 110 km/hour in a 60 km/hour zone;
• Two street racers were stopped racing through a 60 km/hour zone going 131 km/hour;
• A BMW travelling at 185 km/hour in the 100 km/hour zone; and
• A Dodge Charger travelling at 208 km/hour, which was 108 km/hour over the posted speed limit.
The spokesperson credits the police blitz, at least in part, for the lack of deaths on the Sea to Sky Highway over the Victoria Day long weekend.
But there is a long summer left to go.
“We would like to encourage the public to report high-risk driving to police immediately, so we can continue to work together to reduce the number of serious collisions on our highways,” said Cpl. Melissa Jongema, BC Highway Patrol media relations officer, in the release. “Drivers should expect enhanced enforcement operations throughout the summer season as we continue to focus on high-risk and impaired drivers.”
Wouldn’t it be amazing to reach the end of the summer without a highway body count for the corridor? Fingers crossed we all do our part to increase our chances.
