There has been a sharp drop in the number of drivers fined for camping in the passing lanes of B.C. highways and not letting others by.
Numbers obtained by CTV News show only 699 drivers were fined for failing to keep right except to pass in 2018, compared to 2016 when 799 drivers were ticketed for the same offence.
Police were unable to comment on the statistics Friday, so it's unclear if the dip is the result of a change in enforcement or driver behaviour.
Ian Totill of Sense BC, a drivers' advocacy group, says the numbers suggest the former, adding that authorities are not taking the law seriously.
“You and I can go out there at any time and witness people plugging the left-hand lane,” he said. “It’s just one person in front of a long line of traffic that causes havoc and dangerous activities on the roads.”
The “Keep Right, Let Others Pass” law was passed by the B.C. government in 2015, giving police the power to pull over any drivers who refuse to budge and ticket them $167.
On highways, when it’s not bumper to bumper, and traffic is moving at least 80 km/h, the law says drivers are supposed to stay in the right lane except when passing slower-moving vehicles.
The B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure says the law is important because left lane blockers “reduce the efficiency of the highway system and can cause driver frustration which can lead to erratic, unsafe passing behaviour."
Government rules also make it clear that doing the speed limit is not an excuse not to move over.
“The rule requires the driver to move out of the left lane even if the driver is driving at the posted speed limit,” the ministry said in an online statement.
