Surprising number of tickets handed to left-lane hog drivers
Posted December 27, 2015 7:49 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It’s been several months since the provincial government introduced new legislation to crack down on left-lane hogs, the people who drive slow in the fast lane, which can back up traffic and in some cases cause road rage.
But the number of tickets that have actually been handed out may surprise you.
The law was brought in back in the middle of June and up until September police have handed out 60 fines with most of them going to drivers caught in Surrey and Langley.
RCMP Corporal Ronda McEwen admits it’s been a bit challenging for them to actually enforce the law.
“I think that’s sort of fair to say for a lot of laws and violations under the Motor Vehicle Act for us to be in the right place at the right time and then to stop the driver and issue a ticket if that’s warranted. There are already a lot of perimeters around when you can be in the left lanes, so for us to observe all of the appropriate elements of the offence, that can be tough at some times because we can’t be everywhere.”
She adds there was a bit of a grace period in place when the new rules were announced.
“I think over time we may see more violation tickets just because I think officers expect the public to know more. As well, we may see less because people are getting the message and they’re actually following the rules of the road. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
The law is in effect for multi-lane highways where the speed limit is 80 km/h and above. You are supposed to keep to the right except to pass unless you’re preparing to turn left or moving over for an emergency vehicle.
If you’re busted, it’s $167 fine and three penalty points.
