Vernon’s top police officer is applauding the B.C. government’s impending new impoundment rules for excessive speed. Effective Sept. 20, those travelling 40 km/h or more over the posted speed limit will face a charge of excessive speeding that will trigger a mandatory seven-day impoundment for a first offence, a 30-day impoundment for a second, and 60 days for subsequent excessive speeding offences within two years. “I am impressed with the strong stance taken and Motor Vehicle Act changes being introduced to help police address repeat aggressive drivers,” said Supt. Reg Burgess.“Excessive speeders endanger all highway users in addition to themselves, and, unfortunately, we have ample evidence of that in our policing area over past years.”About 10,000 tickets are issued by B.C. police annually for excessive speeding.
Impoundment is in addition to existing penalties, which include:
- A fine of $368 to $483, depending on how excessive the speed.
- Three penalty points on a driver’s licence.
- An ICBC driver-risk premium of $320 per year for three years, over and above Autoplan insurance premiums.
“Having to pay a ticket is just not enough deterrent in many cases,” said Burgess. “The deterrent that slows that driver down could be the one that saves some lives.” Solicitor General Mike de Jong said the new impoundment rule’s purpose is to save lives by going after the kind of driver who drives significantly and dangerously over the posted speed limit, and get those drivers off the road.
Street racers are also affected by the new rules. While street racing differs from excessive speeding because it involves two or more vehicles trying to outdistance each other, under the new impoundment provisions, both are subject to minimum seven-day impoundments.Previously, street racing had a minimum impoundment period of 48 hours.
Additionally, the Motor Vehicle Act now makes careless acts like excessive tailgating, and reckless driving actions like wheelies and doughnuts subject to a seven-day impoundment.
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