by Dr. Radut

Q&A - Violation Ticket Drive In HOV Lane

Published by Rasher -

Q&A Image I received a Violation Ticket for Drive In HOV Lane cited under MVA section 152 with a ticketed amount of $109. The officer that served me the ticket stated that it was the minimum offence and carried no penalty points.

Except for not giving me a warning he was a very courteous officer and I appreciated how he handled the citation. However I always check out any ticket for fatal flaws or omissions before deciding how to deal with it.

image of an hov lane sign on a highway in BC

Thus far I have been unable to find any official information stating if the correct Description Of Offence, Act / Regs, Section and Ticketed Amount (Fine) were written.

Rules

The information on the ICBC website does not even list Drive In HOV Lane as a known violation (at the time this was written).

Also the Motor Vehicle Act although it lists HOV under Section 152 does not indicate the fine

And the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations although it lists HOV under Division 42 again does not indicate the fine

Fine Information

Lastly the Offence Act Violation Ticket Administration And Fines Regulation although it lays out the fines for most Motor Vehicle offences again does not reference HOV and in fact completely skips over the HOV sections in both the Motor Vehicle Act and Motor Vehicle Act Regulations

ICBC Confusion

So I find this very odd and frustrating. I don't know if I was charged correctly or not. I've even gone as far as to phone ICBC Driver Licensing and they gave me conflicting information over the phone that it was $109 no points and then it was $109 2 points but no one could provide me this in writing; they just knew it from experience/by word of mouth.

What Are The HOV Lane Rules?

Can someone please clarify and reference an actual certified government document, hopefully available online, that confirms what the correct Description Of Offence, Act / Regs, Section and Ticketed Amount should be, most importantly tho are there Penalty Points or are there not, or if there are multiple options?

Answer

Great research! Most people who ask for help here don't get anywhere near that far on their own. I don't have to do much to fill in the gaps for you.

General Fine Amount

You didn't scroll down quite far enough in the Violation Ticket Administration and Fines Regulation. If you go to the bottom of the column you will find that if the section is not listed, then it is $109, which would be the case with your 152 section.

List of Penalty Points

As for points, you need to look at Division 28 of the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations. Section 152 is not listed, so there are no penalty points assessed for the violation.

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Published by Rasher - 2012/03/09 - 16:35 | Permalink

Thanks for the reply and clarification

So I presume I could have also been cited under the MVAR section 42 with the same ticketed amount of $109 and again no penalty points. Is there a reason the officer would decide to cite under either the MVA vs the MVAR or does it really make no difference which he cites under in this case?

Very interesting that ICBC was unable to find this information and also provided conflicting information. Noteworthy as well is that several online sites quote a $109 fine with 2 points...perhaps it was changed recently/points removed?

In BC, drivers are fined $98 and two demerit points on the driver’s license. 

Reminder: Law enforcement agencies are taking the occupancy rules seriously. Violators will receive $112.00 fines and two penalty points on their drivers' licenses.

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