Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Police beef up traffic enforcement

By Peter McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM

There hasn't been many radar traps or other traffic crackdowns lately in Vernon, but that's about to change. RCMP begin a new campaign today looking for drivers who speed, go through stop signs, drive while impaired, or don't wear a seatbelt. Inspector Steve McVarnock says a lack of manpower has been a hindrance to traffic enforcement the last while but they've been able to hire a new reserve officer to specifically work traffic duty, along with a regular Mountie. "It's fair to say there needs to be a better job done by our detachment in terms of city traffic enforcement, and the reason for our limited effectiveness is because of our regular workload." McVarnock says Vernon is the 9th busiest detachment in BC in terms of case load. The Inspector won't be specific about the targeted sites other than to say it will be at local "hot spots". The new crackdown comes after calls for more traffic enforcement from city councillor Jack Gilroy and Mayor Wayne Lippert last week. The elected reps argued the recent increase in crashes at city intersections are more a result of drivers not obeying the laws, rather than unsafe intersection design or a lack of signage or traffic lights.

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