Police

Information related to the police.

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.

Q&A - Speed Warning Entered in Database?

Q&A ImageI received a warning this evening, for speeding. I was trying to get out of the way of the person behind me (who ended up being a police officer). Anyway, he told me my name would be in some sort of data base in case an officer sees me and pulls me over for speeding again.

CASE LAW - R v Jacobson

BC Courts Coat of ArmsThe police must follow the provisions of the Emergency Vehicle Driving Regulation when they intend to employ the exemption from the rules of the road set out in the Motor Vehicle Act. In this case, Constable Jacobson was driving his police vehicle on Highway 97 at Daimler Drive in West Kelowna approaching a red light. Hoping to save a few minutes arriving at a complaint he activated the police vehicles's emergency lights and siren about 4 - 5 vehicle lengths’ back from the beginning of the left turn lane on Highway 97 going south. He attempted to make a left hand turn in the intersection and was struck by a northbound Jetta.

Q&A - Using a Dashcam to Report Traffic Violators

Q&A ImageIf I have a dashcam and capture traffic violations and reported them, is it of any use for police to prosecute? If so does it depend on the level severity? What steps or how much involvement would be required of me? eg. appear in court, just sending a video etc.

THREE STRIKES - I'm Out!

SoapboxOne of the more frequently asked questions that I receive from visitors to this site concerns reporting bad driving behaviour to the police and having the offending driver held accountable. Until recently, I would point the person to the article Q&A - Making a Driving Report to the Police and encourage them to take an active role in the complaint so that something effective would be done. When I was working and received an earnest complaint I would take the time to investigate it and issue a ticket if warranted. If not, I would explain the situation fully to the complainant when I thought that I would be unsuccessful prosecuting and decided not to issue a ticket. I cannot recall an unsuccessful prosecution of a ticket like this as the driving behaviour that led to it was usually so far out of the norm that it was easy for the justice to decide.

What do I Have to Tell Police During a Traffic Stop?

Ticket Writer

Q&A - Officer Forgot to Serve Me My Speeding Ticket

Q&A ImageI was not given my copy of a speeding ticket. Will it be mailed to me or should I phone? I know which RCMP detachment wrote the ticket..

Q&A - Didn't Obey Police Direction

Q&A ImageI was talking on the phone while driving. Guilty. However, while at a red light a cop in plain clothes came up to me and told me to pull over to the bus stop. I had know idea who this dude was and said as much. He flashed a badge and said "Victoria Police" and walked to the curb. I drove away wondering if he actually was a cop, thinking he probably was but continued on.

What should I do now?

Q&A - Are Police Qualified to Decide on Noisy Exhausts?

Q&A ImageIs a Police officer also an inspector under the motor vehicle regulations? For noisy exhausts it is the opinion of the inspector that seems to critical in determining whether the vehicle exhaust is too noisy.

So it would be great if a police officer could issue a ticket or a notice to correct just based on their opinion, which should be just more useful than trying to do decibel testing.

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