Driver forces police trying to conduct traffic stop to dive out of the way, as he was reading text messages on his phone
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Those giant, illuminated, “slow down, police ahead” signs don’t stop some speeders. And apparently, neither do police in high-visibility vests with stop signs.
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A Kelowna man ran afoul of an RCMP highway patrol officer after blowing past officers on Highway 97 near 83 Mile House last week, his grey BMW sedan getting clocked at 145 km/h in a 110 zone. One officer, wearing a neon-green vest and holding a stop sign, had to leap clear when the 27-year-old driver failed to stop. Conditions were clear, and there was no other traffic.
A second officer further down the highway managed to get the attention of the driver, and to the side of the road. The driver’s defence: He was on his phone.
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“A fully uniformed officer stepped onto the highway to stop the BMW driver. There should have been plenty of time and distance to stop,” said highway patrol Cpl. Michael McLaughlin. “But it’s hard to see the police when you are reading a text message. That was the driver’s explanation.”
The man was issued fines totalling $708; speeding ($196), using an electronic device while driving ($368) and failure to stop for police when signalled ($144).
“RCMP officers are in the process of transitioning to body cameras, and when you drive by police, your actions will likely be recorded,” says McLaughlin. “We are grateful the driver eventually stopped. This was a dangerous situation that could have ended much worse for both the police officers and the driver.”
The driver isn’t the only one who missed an obvious police presence. A Coquitlam teen had his car impounded after speeding through a massive road sign warning of police traffic enforcement — with a police cruiser parked underneath it — earlier this month in Surrey. He, too, was fined for being on his phone.
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