Province ramping up efforts to crack down on bad drivers by issuing more fines
Mike Smyth
The Province
Bad drivers of B.C., beware.
The government — and the cops — are coming to get you. And they’re loading up with more traffic-ticketing technology than British Columbia has ever seen before.
Attorney General David Eby has promised to get tough with rule-breaking road warriors as he attempts to cut down on soaring accident rates and extinguish the “financial dumpster fire” at ICBC.
How will he do it? With new high-tech equipment and gadgets designed to catch highway lawbreakers.
Let’s say you’re one of those drivers who occasionally takes a peek at your cellphone while behind the wheel.
That’s called distracted driving, it’s against the law, and it carries a heavy fine — even if your car is stopped at a traffic light. But why worry if you don’t see any cops around to catch you, right?
Well, say hello to Eby’s newest little friend: The Laser Technology TruSpeed Sxb Scope, with Bluetooth compatibility.
British Columbia just took delivery of two of these American-made gizmos, which cost ICBC a total of $17,000.
In the last few days, the two scopes were given to a B.C. police department (that ICBC declined to identify). Now those cops are testing their ability to catch distracted drivers in the act.
“The units will be tested by police in varying weather and traffic conditions for usability and effectiveness,” said ICBC spokeswoman Joanna Linsangan.
According to its manufacturer, the beauty of the TruSpeed Sxb is its ability to capture high-resolution photographs of a law-breaking driver from a distance of 610 metres.
The Bluetooth connection then allows a police officer to instantly beam the photograph to another cop up the road, who then stops and tickets the driver.
“That officer will then have the ability to show the image to the distracted driver,” Linsangan said.
The advantage of confronting the driver with incriminating evidence? It greatly reduces the chance of the driver fighting the ticket in court because the jig is clearly up.
But if the driver does dispute the ticket, the TrueSpeed Sxb will deliver the goods in court.
“Unmatched technology, superior performance, courtroom credibility, pinpoint targeting and unbeatable value are what the TruSpeed series bring to your department,” the company boasts on its website.
The B.C. government, meanwhile, just cranked up the fines and penalties for distracted-driving tickets.
Starting in March, anyone caught distracted driving twice within three years could face punitive ICBC premiums and fines of up to $2,000 — a 58 per cent increase over the previous penalty.
Is it any wonder the government now wants a bigger cut of the action?
Last week, the B.C. government officially notified local municipal governments of its intention to renegotiate the sharing of traffic-fine revenue.
Municipalities currently receive 100 per cent of net ticket revenue. But not for long.
“There are some fundamental changes underway related to automated traffic enforcement that may require updates to the agreement,” Eby said, adding it’s “critical” for the B.C. government to access new revenue streams to fix the mess at ICBC, set to lose $1.3 billion this year.
Municipalities are not happy with the move.
“It’s a shock to us,” said Surrey city councillor Bruce Hayne. “Municipalities put that money toward public safety.”
But the B.C. government seems determined to increase traffic-fine revenue, keep more of the money for itself, and use high-tech hardware to get it done.
In addition to the distracted-driving scopes, the government is also rolling out:
- RED-LIGHT CAMERAS: Currently deployed at 140 dangerous intersections, these automated cameras catch drivers running red lights. The government says the cameras are currently being programmed to run 24 hours a day and may be expanded to other locations.
- INTERSECTION SPEED CAMERAS: Red-light cameras will be repurposed to catch speeders, too, though the camera locations have still not been decided.
“Further analysis of crash and speed data will inform these decisions,” said government spokesman Colin Hynes, adding the “speeding threshold” for issuing a ticket is also under discussion.
“We know thousands of vehicles do go through these dangerous sites at more than 30 kilometres an hour over the speed limit each year.”
- SPEED-INTERVAL CAMERAS: The government is currently reviewing a request to install speed-interval cameras on the accident-prone Malahat highway near Victoria. Also know as “point-to-point technology,” the cameras would photograph cars at various locations on the highway, calculate their speed, and issue tickets as required.
- ELECTRONIC TICKETING: The new “e-Ticket” system allows police to quickly scan a driver’s licence, automatically uploading their personal information onto a digitally printed traffic ticket while beaming the details directly to ICBC, who will make darn sure the fine gets paid.
“It’s moving the ticketing of speeders into the 21st century,” said Solicitor General Mike Farnworth.
All of which should produce a windfall of money for the B.C. government, something Liberal justice critic Mike Morris calls “a cash grab” by the ruling NDP.
“They should leave that money with municipalities,” Morris said. “We should make sure this isn’t a cash cow for the provincial government.”
The bottom line for drivers? Don’t speed. Don’t run red lights. And don’t even think of touching that cellphone.
With the cops going high-tech, your wallet will feel the pain if you do.
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