VANCOUVER -- May 25: This story has been updated after RCMP told CTV News Vancouver that they had made an error in their checkpoint logs.
B.C. RCMP say more than 100 vehicles were turned around at COVID-19 checkpoints over the May long weekend.
The news comes as the traffic control unit provides an update on travel checkpoints for the May long weekend. The checkpoints, set up in four spots across the province, are in place to enforce the temporary ban on non-essential travel to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Sgt. Janelle Shoihet said that two vehicles didn’t stop at the Old Toll Booth check points, but that they were not ticketed. Failing to stop is supposed to carry a $230 fine, however RCMP did not ticket them.
“It isn’t clear why the drivers failed to stop,” she said.
Checkpoints were open between May 20 through 22, during which time officers checked a total of 5,125 vehicles, Shoihet said. Among those vehicles, 96 “voluntarily turned around,” and 10 were “directed by police to turn around.”
No tickets were issued over the weekend, and Shoihet says RCMP still have not fined anyone at their checkpoints.
Earlier in the week, police announced that they were ramping up enforcement at the check points, saying they were "increasing the number and duration" of road checks through Victoria Day.
The government temporarily banned non-essential travel between three designated regions of the province in April, and the RCMP has been setting up rotating road checks at four locations for the past two-and-a-half weeks to intercept drivers.
Last weekend saw a significant spike in traffic, with officers stopping 2,069 vehicles from May 14 to 16. Some 30 drivers agreed to turn around voluntarily, authorities said.
By comparison, officers stopped 1,412 vehicles from May 6 to 8, and only one driver was turned around.
