If you saw police and construction workers gathering at Capilano Road and Marine Drive Thursday afternoon, it wasn’t the beginnings of a Village People reunion tour.
Officers from the North Vancouver RCMP and West Vancouver Police Department were undercover as city workers and construction flaggers nabbing afternoon commuters for distracted driving.
Over the course of two hours, members of the two forces issued 49 violation tickets and a number of warnings in an enforcement blitz they’re calling Project Sweep.
“I think evidently there’s still more cleaning up for us to do,” said Cpl Richard De Jong, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman. “I was there for an hour and I literally was in full uniform along with three other people and there were people driving by, looking right at us, talking on their phones. It’s really quite unsettling when you think how distracted people are on their phones. If they’re not noticing a police officer, what else aren’t they noticing?”
Getting caught texting or talking behind the wheel will result in a $368 fine, plus demerit points as well as higher premiums when you renew your auto insurance. The premiums stack up for serial offenders. Getting busted five times in one year would mean a total cost of $5,600.
“It’s very expensive,” De Jong said.
In March 2016, the two forces stationed an undercover officer in a cherry picker at the same intersection, which prompted more indignation from those who found the sting “unsporting.”
But this time around, most people were compliant, De Jong said.
“They kind of laugh and grin. I think, at the end of the day, they think it’s creativity they’re somewhat mildly impressed with but obviously disappointed they got the ticket,” he said. “The people who don’t get busted think it’s great.”
Common excuses were that people were just checking local traffic conditions on their phones, that they were only picking up voicemails, or trying to punch info into their GPS systems or, taking their eyes off the road for a moment was safe because of the low speed of traffic.
“At any time, any distraction and any speed can be dangerous,” De Jong said. “That’s where a lot of the accidents do happen – at lower speeds.”
Police also issued warnings to four people attempting to sneak onto the Lions Gate Bridge using the transit lane.
“Especially down at Cap and Marine, you can’t be scooting along the bus lane when traffic’s backed up for four blocks,” De Jong said.
