Coquitlam cops were busy in February, but March was a whole new mountain of enforcement.
In the latest stats available, traffic services commander S/Sgt. Mark McCutcheon said RCMP issued 1,484 violation tickets in those 31 days, which was also "Distracted Driving Month."
This included 582 fines in high accident zones (HAZE) across Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Anmore and Belcarra — an average of five tickets per day and a 25 per cent increase from the 464 issued in February.
The HAZE team's March ticket total was a 25 per cent increase compared to the 464 in February and 49 per cent from the 392 in January.
"It's a little disappointing to be issuing this many tickets," said McCutcheon, "as distracted driving laws were enacted in 2009 and we would like to think that people are getting the message to leave their phones alone."
The driver of the black pick-up truck in the above photo received one of those setbacks via the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act (MVA) after clocking 100 km/h in a 70 zone along the Mary Hill Bypass (7B).
The Port Coquitlam stretch is one of the HAZE team's primary targets in cracking down speedsters.
From its March campaign, 229 tickets were written by Coquitlam RCMP for "unlawful driving behaviour" on Highway 7B and in the area of Coast Meridian Road.
Other high-risk driving areas that were busy for Mounties included:
- 172 = Lougheed and Pinetree Way
- 102 = Lougheed and Shaughnessy Street
- 79 = Como Lake Avenue and Fowler Court
And, more recently, local Mounties pulled over a driver of an apparent mid-size sedan that posted 102 km/h in a 50 zone just north of Highway 7B and Broadway Street.
That happened around 6:50 p.m. on Monday (May 1) — day one of "High Risk Driving Awareness Month" across B.C.
"Speed is the number one contributing factor for car crash fatalities," said Coquitlam RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Alexa Hodgins in an earlier statement to the Tri-City News.
"Coquitlam RCMP will be conducting enhanced enforcement aimed at educating the public and targeting high risk driving behaviour — specifically speeding."
Meanwhile, once more, police have released its upcoming monthly calendar for enforcement at high accident zones across the Tri-Cities, hoping it'll act as a reminder of the consequences of poor driving behaviour.
The May schedule for Coquitlam RCMP's HAZE enforcement team is as follows:
May 3 (today)
- HAZE team enforcement
- Targeting impaired driving using both static and roving measures
May 7
- HAZE team enforcement
- Targeting high risk driving along Mary Hill Bypass
May 8
- HAZE team enforcement
- Targeting high risk driving along Como Lake Avenue
May 9
- HAZE team enforcement
- Targeting cell-phones and seatbelts
May 10
- HAZE team enforcement
- Targeting intersection at Lougheed Highway and Westwood Street
May 15
- HAZE team enforcement
- Automated Licence Plate Reader (ALPR) both roving and static
May 16
- HAZE team enforcement
- Targeting playground and school zones
May 17
- HAZE team enforcement
- Enforcement along Shaughnessy Street
May 18
- HAZE team enforcement
- Targeting impaired drivers at liquor establishments
May 23
- HAZE team enforcement
- Automated Licence Plate Reader (ALPR) both roving and static
May 24
- HAZE team enforcement
- Targeting playground and school zones
May 25
- HAZE team enforcement
- Automated Licence Plate Reader (ALPR) both roving and static
May 25
- HAZE team enforcement
- Targeting impaired drivers at liquor establishments
