Metro Vancouver traffic blitz hands drivers over 500 tickets

Surrey Police Service members conduct distracted driving checks on Highway 10 in Surrey, B.C. on Thursday March 9th, 2023. (OMNI / CityNews Image)

Posted March 9, 2023 7:08 am.

Last Updated March 9, 2023 1:21 pm.

As road safety blitzes have popped up over the last week around Metro Vancouver, hundreds of drivers have been ticketed by the Burnaby RCMP over the past few months.

If you usually drive up to Simon Fraser University (SFU), you may have noticed a little extra attention from Mounties and the university traffic safety team, who say they set up 20 joint operations between October and February, handing out more than 500 tickets for traffic and safety violations during that time.

Burnaby RCMP Traffic Services team up with SFU Traffic Safety for road safety initiatives

More: https://t.co/PYqb4pqG84

“Based on the volume of unsafe driving observed, expect to see this type of initiative & partnership to continue in the future.”#DriveSafe pic.twitter.com/JAxGPobKlx

— Burnaby RCMP (@BurnabyRCMP) March 8, 2023

The violations were mostly for illegal U-turns (129) and rolling through stop signs (114), but there were also close to 100 speeding tickets. Nine people had no driver’s license, and one person was ticketed for what the RCMP calls “stunting” in the middle of an intersection.

Last September, the RCMP says both its officers and the SFU Traffic safety team noticed an increase in road and pedestrian safety issues around SFU, so they decided to team up and target the area.

“While a lot of tickets were issued, our first goal is always to educate the public and to keep our roads safe,” said Cpl. Mike Kalanj with Burnaby RCMP. “Based on the volume of unsafe driving observed, expect to see this type of initiative and partnership to continue in the future.”

Wow! 34 tickets in less than 2 hrs and ironically this is right in front of Traffic Court. Thank you to @Granvillecpc1 volunteers for their help yesterday. Spread the word March is #DistractedDrivingMonth #LeaveYourPhoneAlone #EyesFwdBC pic.twitter.com/GQNdAI4AEw

— VPD Traffic Section (@VPDTrafficUnit) March 8, 2023

Traffic safety blitzes have been underway this month around the Lower Mainland, targeting distracted driving.

In a Twitter post, the Vancouver Police Department traffic section is celebrating dozens of tickets handed out on Hornby Street by officers and volunteers checking traffic earlier this week.

“Wow! 34 tickets in less than 2 hrs and ironically this is right in front of Traffic Court.”