COVID-19 enforcement: Zero tickets handed out at road checks during B.C.'s travel ban
Police never ticketed anyone at the road checks set up to enforce B.C.'s temporary travel ban, which is being lifted on Tuesday.
B.C. first announced its travel ban, prohibiting locals from moving between three health regions, on April 23. The rules were meant to help curb the spread of COVID-19 and on June 15, that ban is being lifted.
Starting on May 6, the RCMP established regular road checks highway points between the health regions. Those included checks at Highway 1 near Boston Bar, Highway 3 near Manning Park, Highway 5 near Old Toll Booth and Highway 99 near Lillooet.
Between May 6 and June 12, Mounties say they checked 14,193 vehicles at those road blocks. Of those, 236 drivers voluntarily turned around. Another 26 were told by police they must turn around, but no tickets were issued, Mounties confirmed with CTV News Vancouver.
Drivers who refused to turn around could have been fined up to $575.
On Tuesday, B.C. is entering Step 2 of its restart plan, meaning recreational travel across the province will be permitted. With those restrictions lifting, Mounties in the province say it's not a "licence to disregard the rules of the road."
"We would like to remind all motorists to make smart decisions when it comes to driving," Supt. Holly Turton, officer in charge of BC Highway Patrol, in a news release Monday.
"Please obey the rules of the road for your safety and that of others. Our officers work hard to keep our highways safe, but we need people to drive with care so that we can make our highways safer together."
One ticket was issued for breaking the travel ban, but before May 6 and not at a road check. That ticket was given on May 1 on Vancouver Island after a driver was pulled over "for more than one driving offence."
A conversation with the driver, who was from North Vancouver, revealed that he was travelling for non-essential purposes, Cpl. Mike Halskov told CTV News Vancouver after the ticket was issued.
“The officer issued a ticket under the Emergency Program Act and directed the driver to return to the Lower Mainland immediately. The driver was also issued tickets for the driving offences,” Halskov said.
RCMP's E Division confirmed with CTV News Vancouver that no other tickets were issued outside of road checks.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.