116 speeding tickets in 13 days: Mounties crack down on dangerous driving on B.C.'s Highway 3

Vancouver -

With limited highway connections between B.C.'s Lower Mainland and Interior following major damage in recent storms, police are boosting enforcement to crack down on dangerous driving on one particular route.

In an update on the province's ongoing flood response Monday, B.C.'s Transportation Minister Rob Fleming said dozens of speeding tickets have been handed out already this month along a particularly windy mountain highway.

"I can confirm that 116 speeding tickets have been issued along Highway 3 so far in December and let me say we have zero tolerance for unsafe driving on Highway 3," Fleming said Monday, adding that Mounties have stepped up enforcement and are "targeting any drivers that are driving recklessly."

Over the weekend, that key link between the Lower Mainland and the Interior was closed several times due to spun out commercial trucks, multiple vehicle incidents and what DriveBC described as "extremely poor driving conditions."

Fleming said local truck drivers have called for more enforcement on the route.

"The vast, vast majority of truck drivers are doing the right thing. They are safe and responsible. They are professionals and we depend on them to deliver the products we need," he said.

"No one is more safety conscious than the B.C. Trucking Association who has been an absolutely invaluable partner in helping us to re-establish supply chains."

Fleming said officers are also making sure drivers on the highway are travelling for essential reasons only, which is currently required.

"We don't want a large number of passenger vehicles, any unnecessary passenger vehicles on that corridor, mixing in with commercial truck traffic," he said. "It's just too dangerous."

Fleming announced Monday that the Coquihalla Highway, which has been closed since the Nov. 14 storm, might reopen to commercial traffic at some point over the holidays, which would free up Highway 3 for passenger vehicles. 

"For the time being, Highway 3 remains our only connection between the Lower Mainland and the Interior, and our focus there continues to be on safety," he said. "We have about 3,000 trucks a day now on that highway and it's vital that we support the safe movement of essential goods."

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Andrew Weichel