The odds must be astronomical for a driver to get pulled over twice in the same day and on the same road — let alone within the same hour.
This was the case for one Port Coquitlam commuter that chose to speed excessively along the Mary Hill Bypass (7B), a stretch local traffic cops are patrolling more actively these days in hopes of breaking the habit.
In a span of 15 minutes on Friday night (Feb. 3), a driver clocked 49 km/h over the posted speed limits on two separate occasions.
The first took place just before 11 p.m. when they reached 109 km/h in a 60 zone near Highway 7B's intersection with Coast Meridian Road.
Then, at exactly 11:13 p.m., the driver was pulled over again for speeding to 119 km/h in a 70 zone at Shaughnessy Street and the Mary Hill Bypass — about four kilometres west of the first infraction.
RCMP handed a total of $564 in fines and impounded the person's vehicle for a seven-day period under the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act (MVA).
If the same driver is caught excessively speeding a third time within the next two years, they'll be subject to a 30-day impoundment, which would lead to a price tag in the thousands to get the vehicle back.
"Being caught twice in the same night, let alone within 15 minutes apart is rare," spokesperson Cpl. Alexa Hodgins told the Tri-City News about the incidents.
"The goal of traffic enforcement is to maintain road safety and reduce harm."
Hodgins added the driver also received six demerit points against their license, and hopes this can be a valuable lesson for the public in knowing police are cracking down on excessive speeding.
"Police are reminded the public to slow down and drive according the posted speed limits."
Over the next year, Coquitlam RCMP is be tracking enforcement as well as the number of accidents on the Mary Hill Bypass to see if the effort has resulted in a reduction in accidents along the stretch.
Called High Accident Zone Enforcement (HAZE) and High Visibility Enforcement (HVE), Mounties are directing as much as 25 per cent of its traffic resources to Highway 7B.
RCMP are also reminding the public to never put stickers on their lights after another driver was fined $109 for having flower decals across their tail lights.
- with a file from Diane Strandberg, Tri-City News
