Not a new story, as I believe they started doing this last year (or maybe even the year before). If you are caught speeding more than 40km/h over the posted limit they impound your car on the spot.
Now I see this story online with the Herald this morning:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/ca...219/story.html
Some notable quotes:
Quote:
Andrew Scott is still flabbergasted at what he considers overkill penalties for excessive speeding that left him and his family stranded on the side of a highway without their SUV in the middle of their vacation.
The Delta man, his wife Deanna, and two children, age four and 10, were on their way from Penticton to Chilliwack on Aug. 3 when they were pulled over by cops at a speed trap on Highway 3 east of Hope, near Manning Provincial Park. Scott was caught doing 141 km/h in an 80 km/h zone.
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Well that does seem a tad bit excessive doesn't it, however reading on further we start to get to the heart of the matter, which involves passing on the 2 lane mountain roads in BC:
Quote:
Scott was ticketed on the first passing lane after a winding 15 kilometre stretch on the highway. Scott said he had been behind a beat-up Volvo with a muffler dragging on the ground and two truck trailers going well below the speed limit and had pulled out and accelerated in order to overtake them.
He was at the “pinnacle of his pass” on a downhill slope and was about to fall back into the right-hand lane and reduce speed when he was clocked by a traffic cop.
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I too had this situation happen to me on the 93 between Radium and Castle Junction (except I didn't get impounded as I didn't pass quite that fast). After following 2 vehicles that were constantly speeding up and slowing down and not maintaining the speed limit I hit a nice safe straight stretch, I pulled out and accelerated to about 110 to pass. Right as I started to pull back into the lane I saw the flashing lights.
The quotes in the article point out how safely passing on these BC roads is pretty much impossible on those safe stretches if the RCMP fishes for speeders on them:
Quote:
“They were tracking people’s speed at the beginning of the passing lane without making an attempt to see if they slowed down,” he said. “It’s entrapment and creating a false situation where they’re criminalizing passing.”
Police will say drivers can’t exceed the speed limit in order to pass, said Miklossy.
“But my argument is, they should just essentially outlaw all passing lanes in B.C. because it’s virtually impossible to make a safe pass without exceeding the speed limit.”
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I considered my ticket a lesson learned, and now try to find a nice gap in the traffic when I drive the 93 and just set my cruise at 95 and chill.
So fellow CP'ers, what are your thoughts on this?