Police plan crackdown on irresponsible drivers
Whitehorse RCMP have set their sights on Whitehorse drivers in a pilot project to increase traffic enforcement.
Whitehorse RCMP have set their sights on Whitehorse drivers in a pilot project to increase traffic enforcement.
As of Sunday, drivers in Whitehorse should notice more traffic enforcement within the City of Whitehorse.
The objective is to focus on poor driving habits such as failing to stop at stop signs, failing to obey traffic lights, lane changing without signals, speeding and other aggressive driving styles, Sgt. Don Rogers said today.
Whitehorse RCMP are assigning one member from each of the detachment shifts to focus solely on traffic enforcement, he added.
Currently, there is no dedicated city traffic position in the Whitehorse RCMP detachment.
Although the head of traffic services for the Yukon, Cpl. Shawn Pollard, works out of Whitehorse, he is responsible for the whole territory.
"M Division Traffic Services serves all Yukon communities, and this additional resource will hopefully be able to be very successful in improving drivers' habits,” Rogers said.
Even though this project has not officially started, one constable has already written 28 tickets for a variety of offences, Rogers reported.
He issued 20 written warnings and numerous verbal warnings, had five vehicles towed and laid three charges of driving while suspended from doing so. All this was over a four-day shift, Rogers said.
The Whitehorse RCMP, assisted by city bylaw officers and the youth and aboriginal policing officers, are also continuing to monitor speed limits in school zones.
Since students returned to school, officers have given out 89 tickets and 17 warnings, police reported this week.
Most of the tickets were given out to speeders and drivers who failed to respect stop signs, according to police, including one school bus driver caught speeding in a school zone.
"Members of the RCMP set up radar enforcement in school zones in both the mornings and the afternoons when driver and student activity was at their peak,” Rogers said.
"All schools, including Golden Horn and Hidden Valley, were visited by police, and it appears that many drivers should be given a failing grade for not obeying the posted speed limits.”
He reminded drivers to obey the speed limit and all traffic control devices and to watch out for school buses with flashing lights.
Drivers on the Hamilton Boulevard extension and Falcon Drive have especially been noticed and will be targeted in the coming weeks, Rogers said.
If this test project is successful, it may result in more officers being dedicated to traffic enforcement within the city.
Comments (4)
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wildfire_god@yahoo.com on Sep 20, 2010 at 2:54 am
My favourite pet peeves are all the vehicles with only one headlight, or no tailights at all. People, if you are driving at night and you have a vehicle with automatic headlights, they don't neccesarily turn on your tail lights. Get out of your vehicles once and awhile, and do a walk-around. Check your signal lights. An easy way to check your back-up lights, if you are friendless, is to park (at a safe distance away from) in front of a window. Put your vehicle in reverse (with the brakes on) and you will be able to check up your back-up lights and brake lights in one go.
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F. Hatton on Sep 20, 2010 at 1:23 am
I think the RCMP monitoring in Whitehorse is better! They have the most worst, ignorant drivers i have ever come across!!
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Peter Wojtowicz on Sep 19, 2010 at 1:29 pm
Before the RCMP can enforce the laws, they must show that they can improve their own driving habits. The model they go by is, do what I say, not what I do! I have observed failing driving habits by the members failing to signal on a lane change, speeding and I mean high speed, failing to yield to pedestrians, tail gating at 90 km by only one car length behind a vehicle, etc.
I think maybe their own personal driving habits are over flowingon the job.
I think a review of members driving should be considered before blaming the public!
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soldierpiper on Sep 17, 2010 at 10:32 pm
It would be a good idea to set up speed traps outside of the remote communities.The hunters mostly coming & going to Faro are going way to fast, then they go flying off the road because of all the sudden sharp turns,not to mention driving in the opposite lanes because of the high speeds.I would love for the RCMP to watch the roads in & out of town more often.