Date: Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Listen: Operation Impact Sends Strong Message
Victoria BC – Operation Impact, the national traffic safety campaign over the Thanksgiving weekend, kept VicPD Traffic and CRD Integrated Road Safety Unit officers very busy.
During one of the scheduled enforcement times on Friday, in the downtown core of Victoria, 64 traffic tickets were issued for a myriad of offences over a two hour period. No impaired drivers were located during that time.
Operation Impact was designed as an education and enforcement initiative aimed at reminding people that road safety is everyone’s responsibility. The two traffic units, VicPD Traffic and CRD IRSU, were focusing on the top four behaviours that put all road users at risk: impaired driving, seatbelt use and aggressive and distracted driving.
Distracted driving is now the second leading cause of serious injury and deadly collisions on B.C.’s roadway. Both VicPD and CRD IRSU are committed to ensuring safety on our roadways.
“It’s disappointing that people still are not getting the message that road safety is everyone’s responsibility,” said Sgt. Ron Cronk, Sergeant in charge of VicPD’s Traffic section. “Do up your seatbelt, put down your phone and save your life or the life of someone else.”
“Our officers issued a ticket on Friday for Driving While Control Obstructed, which was given to a driver who had their dog on their lap,” said CRD IRSU Sgt. Alex Yelovatz. “Not only is that dangerous for the driver, as the dog, cat or other animal can cause a major distraction, but if a collision occurs, that animal is likely to be seriously injured. Animals should travel in a crate or properly secured by harness and a seatbelt.”
The full breakdown of tickets is as follows
Seatbelts 32
Use Electronic Device 15
Drive While Control Obstructed 1
Drive Without Due Care 2
Drive Contrary Restriction(s) 1
Disobey Traffic Control Device 2
Cycle Without Helmet 4
Fail to Produce D.L. 3
Fail to Display “N” 1
Notice and Order 1
Fail to Display Front Plate 2