By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

‘They’ve had tremendous success:’ Nanaimo RCMP snag speeders

May 6, 2019 | 4:09 PM

NANAIMO — RCMP members on the streets are following through on a promise from Nanaimo’s top cop to crack down on dangerous driving.

Nanaimo RCMP spokesman Const. Gary O’Brien said the local municipal traffic unit handed out nearly 300 violation tickets in April, the majority of them for speeding. The beefed up enforcement followed comments from Supt. Cameron Miller, who told Nanaimo councillors during an April quarterly update he routinely witnessed speeding and aggressive driving during his daily commute.

“They’ve had tremendous success,” O’Brien said of the traffic unit’s work. “Success in that they’re curbing the behaviour of people on the highways. Twenty or 25 kilometres an hour (over the speed limit) is quite common but a number of cars are going 35 to 40 over, if not more, and those cars are actually being seized for excessive speed.”

Miller’s comments and the increased focus on driving enforcement were in reaction to five fatal and several other significant accidents within the first 90 days of 2019.

“It’s our commitment to keeping our roads safe,” O’Brien said.

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He said Mounties focused on high crash sites during high volume periods of the day, with particular focus on the 6:30 to 7:30 a.m. window when “the last thing a lot of people are thinking about is the speed of their vehicle.”

O’Brien said officers also used more passive tactics, like simply parking on the side of busy roads, causing speeders to hit the brakes.

The traffic unit is expected to continue to focus on speeding and dangerous driving throughout the summer, O’Brien said, noting more resources for that unit are on the way.

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