A local RCMP officer on the lookout for distracted drivers found more than he anticipated Monday afternoon when the driver of a pickup truck did a lengthy, smoke-filled burnout behind another car waiting at the intersection of Columbia Avenue and 18th Street.
Const. Kevin Theodosiou imediately pulled the vehicle over and issued the driver a ticket for driving without due care and attention. The ticket comes with a $368 fine and a six-point demerit against the driver’s insurance. The vehicle was also impounded for seven days.
“I was scared he was going to hit the car in front of him and push it into the intersection,” said Pam Malekow, who was crossing the intersection at the time. “The tires squealing first caught my attention and I was afraid I was going to be hit. The driver of the vehicle in front of him looked terrified.”
The impound was issued under Section 250 of the BC Motor Vehicle Act for stunting. According to the act “stunt means circumstances in which, taking into account the condition of the highway, traffic, visibility and weather, the driver or operator of a motor vehicle is driving or operating the motor vehicle without reasonable consideration for other persons using the highway or in a manner that is likely to cause harm to an individual or likely to distract, startle or interfere with users of the highway by doing any of the following.” This incident fell under part (a) of the section “causing any or all of the motor vehicle’s tires to lift from the road surface,” Const. Theodosiou said.
Const. Theodosiou explained it was especially concerning that the incident took place at a time of day when there was a lot of traffic on the road and several pedestrians in the area.